Trump Orders Meat Plants To Stay Open Even As They Emerge As Virus Hot Spots
Workers in the plants have been getting sick because of their forced proximity with each other, causing slaughterhouses to shutter across the country. A fear of food shortages prompted President Donald Trump to deem the plants "critical infrastructure," which gives the owners liability coverage if workers get sick on the job.
The New York Times:
Trump Signs Executive Order To Prevent Meat Shortage
President Trump on Tuesday declared meat processing plants “critical infrastructure,” in an effort to ensure that facilities around the country remained open as the government tried to prevent looming shortages of pork, chicken and other products as a result of the coronavirus. The action comes as meat plants around the country have turned into coronavirus hot spots, sickening thousands of workers, and after the head of Tyson Foods, one of the country’s largest processors, warned that millions of pounds of meat would simply disappear from the supply chain. (Swanson and Yaffe-Bellany, 4/28)
The Associated Press:
Trump Order Keeping Meat Packing Plants Open Worries Unions
The order signed Tuesday uses the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to try to prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves. Unions fired back, saying the White House was jeopardizing lives and prioritizing cold cuts over workers’ health. More than 20 meatpacking plants have closed temporarily under pressure from local authorities and their own workers because of the virus, including two of the nation’s largest, one in Iowa and one in South Dakota. Others have slowed production as workers have fallen ill or stayed home to avoid getting sick. (Colvin, 4/29)
Reuters:
Trump Orders U.S. Meat-Processing Plants To Stay Open Despite Coronavirus Fears
The order is designed in part to give companies legal cover with more liability protection in case employees catch the virus as a result of having to go to work. John H. Tyson, chairman of Tyson Foods, said on Sunday that the food supply chain was “breaking” and warned of the potential for meat shortages. Before issuing the executive order, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that signing the order, “... will solve any liability problems,” adding, “And we always work with the farmers. There’s plenty of supply.” (Mason and Polansek, 4/28)
The Washington Post:
Trump Expected To Order Meat Plants To Say Open, Citing Defense Production Act
Worker safety experts say such an order would prevent local health officials from ordering meat companies to use their the most effective weapon available to protect their employees from the coronavirus — closures. They also fear that it would also undercut newly issued federal health guidelines designed to put space between plant workers. Trump has not publicly explained which provisions within the act he will rely on to compel plants to remain open or grant companies protection from workplace safety requirements. (Telford, Kindy and Bogage, 4/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Takes Executive Action To Keep Meat-Processing Plants Open
The North American Meat Institute, a trade group representing U.S. meatpackers, said the order will help farmers and keep food flowing to consumers. “The safety of the heroic men and women working in the meat and poultry industry is the first priority,” Julie Anna Potts, the group’s chief executive, said Tuesday night “And as it is assured, facilities should be allowed to re-open.” The close-quarters work typical to meat processing, with line workers cutting carcasses side by side for hours at a time, has made meatpacking plants particularly susceptible to outbreaks. (Restuccia and Bunge, 4/28)
The Washington Post:
Virus Spread At Virginia Chicken Plants Alarms Health Officials
Health officials on Virginia's Eastern Shore are increasingly worried that clusters of coronavirus tied to two poultry plants may overwhelm the one local hospital, even as the Trump administration insists such facilities remain open to keep the country fed during the crisis. The chicken plants, one operated by Perdue Farms, the other by Tyson Foods, have continued operating as the number of cases linked to them climbed in the past week, according to health officials. (Barrett, 4/28)
Politico:
Workers Turn To Courts And States For Safety Protection As Trump Declines To Act
President Donald Trump can force meatpacking plants to stay open during the pandemic, but his own administration hasn’t required employers to provide safety equipment to prevent the virus' spread. Now, workers in a range of industries are looking to states, Congress and the courts to step in. A judge this week ordered leading meat company Smithfield to follow federal safety recommendations at a plant in Missouri, and labor advocates hope to use the lawsuit as a model to force companies in other sectors to protect workers. (Rainey and Crampton, 4/28)
The Washington Post:
FAQ: What Consumers Need To Know About The Meat Industry Right Now
The coronavirus pandemic is now endangering the U.S. beef, chicken and pork supply chain. Worker illness has shut down meat-processing plants and forced remaining facilities to slow production to accommodate absenteeism and social-distancing protocols. In an attempt to ward off potential food supply shortages, President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday evening that invoked the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing plants as essential infrastructure that must remain open. (Reiley, 4/28)
In other news on the supply chain —
Reuters:
Toilet Paper Trophy Hunters On A Roll As U.S. Shortages Start Easing
U.S. consumers have begun spotting rare Quilted Northern and Charmin toilet paper rolls on store shelves across the United States, as stocks start building after weeks of severe shortages. (Geller and Baertlein, 4/28)
