Workers cheered as they enter Smithfield pork plant in South Dakota
Source: Omaha World Herald-AP
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Employees at a Smithfield pork processing plant in South Dakota where a coronavirus outbreak infected over 800 people were greeted at work Wednesday with thank-you signs, cheers and waves from about a dozen area residents.
“They're putting their health at risk just like the hospital workers are to continue on with this work, so I hope they feel appreciated,” said Becky Olson, a Sioux Falls resident who held a sign outside Smithfield's entrance.
The plant has instructed many workers to return to work this week as it looks to scale up operations by the end of the month. Masked employees streamed into the factory entrance as trucks carrying pigs rumbled past.
The Smithfield plant, which produces roughly 5% of the nation's pork supply, gave an early warning of how quickly the virus can spread in meatpacking plants that are key to the nation's food supply. Two employees at the plant have died from COVID-19, along with over 20 meat and poultry workers nationwide.
Read more: https://www.omaha.com/money/workers-cheered-as-they-enter-smithfield-pork-plant-in-south-dakota/article_35e60da3-0ef5-5ccc-933f-50d95e84f061.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
What happened to workers demanding safety? I imagine these plants do not have Union Representation... This will be an interesting clinical/ sociology paper for someone in the near future.
Are the workers welcome at the local barber shops, restaurants and such that open?
How about some free haircuts and meals to show appreciation?
rocktivity
