To the editor:
So Tyson did “encourage people to stay home when they’re sick”? Seriously?
We have seen an absolutely ridiculous response to the COVID-19 virus from Tyson Foods in Perry.
After the initial outbreak in Columbus Junction, including two deaths, the company should have learned and implemented prevention measures far ahead of the first confirmed positive cases at each plant. Once you have one known positive employee in working conditions such as a meat processing plant, there are soon hundreds more. It was too late.
Before this community and high-risk facility had one positive staff member, Tyson staff knew what happened in Columbus Junction. They should have had mandatory masking, spread out the production line (yes, reduced capacity and production) and provided hand sanitizer at every turn.
By waiting until you were well into having positive cases, you did essentially nothing.
Additionally, when employees had any symptoms of this extremely contagious virus, they should have been encouraged to stay home and away from their loved ones and others in the community. This did not happen.
Tyson Foods in Perry insisted that their employees work despite feeling ill. There are many staff who felt ill and if they didn’t have a fever (only one of many symptoms), they were told they should work.
I realize that there is an economical disaster at hand here, but this inhumane response to a public and industrial health crisis is appalling. The lack of knowledge about this illness and lack of preventive measures for spread is inexcusable.
I understand that the leaders of the Perry plant are simply puppets of the corporation but for goodness sake, stand up for your people!
Stephanie Stewart
North Liberty
If you do not want to work for Tyson, then quit. How many people are out of work? There are plenty of people waiting for you complainers to quit so they can get a job. Stop writing letters to the editor about how terrible it is to have a job and just quit. Show us that you mean business and stop working.
That’s tough talk, but it’s just that, talk.
It is true that many people are out of work and are desperate for employment. But employment, especially at that pay rate, should not include a more than minor possibility of illness or death for the workers or their family members.
OSHA, USDA and the Departments of Health used to be chartered to provide a degree of protection and safety for workers. It appears this charter is now ignored to the benefit of employers and to provide political cover for the next election.
As of this writing, 86,000 U.S. citizens have died from COVID-19. This is not fiction, not a conspiratorial lie, despite what a few callous individuals have said.
We know that meat packing plants have been especially vulnerable. This is a fact. Workers should not have to choose between poverty and death on the altar of commerce.
There is no tradeoff between workers dying and maintaining the supply of pork chops.
We are asking poorly paid CNAs to handle the bodily fluids of those infected in nursing homes, and the author is worried about cutting meat? Poor baby, you should just punch out, go home and get into bed. However, I won’t come by and change your diaper. You have to do that yourself.
I don’t work for Tyson. If you would read the letter, you would see that I simply wanted Tyson to learn from the outbreak in other plants and to protect their valuable employees while they worked. The company knew of + cases in employees yet still told them to work while not feeling well.
I am a nurse, not a Tyson employee. I simply have concern for public health.