7 Plant Managers at Tyson’s Food Pork Plant Fired Over Betting on Workings Catching COVID-19
December 17, 2020
Peyton Feldman
Mrs. Seltzer
Period 4
12/17/2020
After an investigation 7 plant managers at Tyson’s Pork Plant in Waterloo Iowa got fired for creating a betting ring on how many workers would catch Covid-19 at the beginning of the pandemic.
The death of a Tyson meatpacking worker, Isidro Ferdnandez back on April 26th was the root of the speculation. The accusation sprouted into a lawsuit which the Associated press claimed, “allege[d] the company failed to implement safety measures, allowed some sick and exposed employees to keep working, and falsely assured the public the plant was safe.” It had also disclosed Tyson handed out $500 “Thank You” bonuses to any employee who worked every scheduled shift for three months, “A policy that the plaintiffs argue incentivized sick workers to keep working”.
The company mourned the worker deaths but strongly opposed the allegations saying they’ve spent millions of dollars to keep worker protected and followed safety guidelines even though 1000 of there 2800 workers had been infected resulting in 6 total deaths, the virus also spread across Black Hawk County. The first lawsuit was dismissed after citing President Donald Trump’s order required plants to remain open to support the national meat supply in August.
However according to NPR Tyson “launched an independent investigation into the complaints last month [November], suspending without pay the managers allegedly involved. U.S Attorney General Eric Holder led the investigation.” Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony inspected the plant with other health officials and considered the conditions were horrendous workers were not wearing a face covering and were stuffed close together. When the outbreak of the virus occurred, no one was tested or quarantined.
Tyson President and CEO Dean Banks recently came out the shadows saying in a statement “The behaviors exhibited by these individuals do not represent the Tyson core values, which is why we took immediate and appropriate action to get to the truth. Now that the investigation has concluded, we are taking action based on the findings,” They continue by announcing they’ve added new protective guidelines and gear to the facility such as dividers, a mask mandate, and temperature scanners.
