Meat Plant Workers Publicly Shame Trump During Wednesday Rebuke

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This week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating meat processing plants as essential infrastructure in a bid to force them to stay open and thereby — the thinking goes — protect the U.S. food supply. Meat processing companies like Tyson Foods were allegedly planning on at least temporarily closing up to 80 percent of their facilities. But now, a number of employees at these facilities tell CNN that they’re not sure that people are exactly going to be keen to come into work and thereby potentially expose themselves to the Coronavirus just because Trump signed a piece of paper. According to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, at least 20 meat and food processing workers have already died amidst the pandemic.

One worker named Donald, works at Tyson’s Waterloo, Iowa, facility and actually previously tested positive for the virus, told CNN:

‘All I know is, this is crazy to me, because I can’t see all these people going back into work. I don’t think people are going to go back in there. I’m still trying to figure out: What is he going to do, force them to stay open? Force people to go to work?’

On Tuesday, the day when he signed the executive order in question, Trump discussed addressing the unique “liability” of companies like Tyson Foods, which sounds like the aim is to absolve the company of further responsibility if someone gets sick on the job. After all, thanks to Trump’s executive order, Tyson Foods and similar meat processing companies run essential infrastructure, so — thanks to Trump — managers have no choice but to stay open, apparently.

Another worker at the same Tyson facility that the employee Donald works at shared with CNN:

‘All in all, it can be a good thing if done right. But my faith in this administration has never been strong and is nonexistent currently. I wanna know what these added ‘liability protections’ are going to be.’

Meanwhile, someone who works at Tyson’s Independence, Iowa, facility added:

‘I just don’t know how they’re going to do it when there are people dying and getting really sick. Who’s to say people are even gonna show up to work?’

Overall, CNN Business explains that they have “spoken to employees in several Tyson plants who do not want to be named for fear of losing their jobs,” and the sentiments were similar across the board. Trump is putting meatpacking workers’ health and safety on the line, although he’s refused to display that same kind of urgency when it comes to Coronavirus-related issues that don’t circle back to protecting the concerns of big business.

Trump has repeatedly been urged to use the Defense Production Act to order the production of medical supplies needed by workers on the front lines of the fight against the Coronavirus, but he’s only used the provisions of the act sparingly, frequently deriding those who’ve dared to ask for any kind of assistance at all. He used the provisions of the Defense Production Act to designate Tyson Foods and related companies as essential infrastructure.