Groups seek more protection for workers as COVID-19 cases at NC meat packing plants rise
Advocates for farm and meat processing plant workers called on Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday to require additional COVID-19 protections for plant employees.
The N.C. Farmworker Advocacy Network, N.C. AFL-CIO and other groups want at least two weeks of paid sick leave for those testing positive or in quarantine; staggered bathroom and lunch breaks to lower the risk of contamination; and time-and-a-half pay for taking on increased risks.
At a video news conference on Friday, they also asked that workers be part of the ongoing conversation about plant safety, including being told when someone tests positive.
On Thursday, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said 982 workers had tested positive for COVID-19 at 20 meat processing plants in 12 counties, The News & Observer reported. The state did not name the plants.
Hunter Ogletree of the Western North Carolina Workers Center said he believes cases are increasing, but they don’t know by how much.
“We don’t know the extent to which it’s increasing because there’s no transparency around numbers, there’s no transparency from the plant’s perspective and there’s no transparency from the local public health official perspective,” he said.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, the DHHS secretary, said to “stay tuned” after being asked three times at a news conference Wednesday about the number of meat processing plant workers who have tested positive. When asked again Friday, Cohen said DHHS is trying to figure out how to most accurately collect and present the information.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has loaned staff to North Carolina to visit and make sure plants follow measures recommended by the CDC and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, Cohen said. Those include providing clean face coverings for employers, rearranging facilities so that workers can remain six feet apart and providing short breaks to allow employees to wash their hands more often.
Some facilities, such as Smithfield’s Tar Heel plant, have taken steps to protect workers. According to the Bladen Journal, the plant has installed plexiglass barriers on production floors and in break rooms, while also implementing thermal scanning.
Some workers, though, have said those steps aren’t enough and that they fear bringing the virus home to their families. Robeson County previously confirmed 46 cases linked to the Tar Heel plant, while Columbus County said seven of its cases were tied to the facility, according to WECT.
Ella Ellerbe, a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1208 who works at the Smithfield plant, said: “Keep me out of there until they guarantee that they’re going to test people and they’re going to make sure we stay six feet apart and give us our right PPE and protect us. That’s what I’m asking God for.
This reporting is financially supported by Report for America/GroundTruth Project and The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, a component fund of the North Carolina Community Foundation. The News & Observer maintains full editorial control of the work. To support the future of this reporting, subscribe or donate.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Groups seek more protection for workers as COVID-19 cases at NC meat packing plants rise."