The families of three workers, two of them Hispanic, who died after contracting the coronavirus in an outbreak of a meat plant in Iowa, they sued Tyson Foods and its top executives, for having put their lives at risk to keep the plant in operation.
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The lawsuit alleges that the company deliberately misled employees about the outbreak to induce them to continue working despite the risk, thereby putting “profits on the health, safety and well-being” of workers at its pork processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa.
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The case was filed Thursday by families of Reberiano García, 60, who died on April 23; José Ayala, Jr., 44, died May 25; and Sedika Buljic, 58 years, who died on April 18. At least two other Waterloo workers died after contracting the virus, which infected more than 1,000 of the 2,800 workers at the plant.
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“These false representations were intended by Tyson to mislead workers at the Waterloo facility … and induce them to continue working despite the uncontrolled outbreak of covid-19 at the plant and the health risks associated with the job, “according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Black Hawk County District Court.
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The lawsuit alleges that Tyson officials knew the virus was spreading at the plant in late March or early April, but did not report it to employees and the public. As the outbreak grew, the company did not implement security measures, it allowed some sick and exposed employees to remain on the production line and falsely assured workers and the public that the plant was safe, the lawsuit alleges.
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He also alleges that plant supervisors told employees that their ill coworkers had the flu and warned them not to discuss the coronavirus at work.
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The plant is Tyson’s largest pork facility and closed on April 22 before reopening with new security measures in early May.
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Tyson claimed he had to keep the plant open because the nation’s food supply chain was in danger of collapse due to the plants closing and warned of a possible meat shortage in supermarkets.
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The lawsuit alleges those warnings were overblown, noting that Tyson’s pork exports to China, including some from the Waterloo plant, increased significantly in April.
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Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson told the Associated Press that the company was saddened by the deaths and that its “highest priority is the health and safety of our workers”. He said Tyson has implemented security measures that meet or exceed federal guidelines.
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Ayala started showing symptoms in early April and died after weeks of treatment with an artificial respirator. A native of Laredo, Texas, Ayala moved to Waterloo about 12 years ago to work for Tyson.
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Massive outbreaks in balers
Meat packing plants have been spots of massive coronavirus outbreaks due to its overcrowded conditions, which has led several to temporarily close.
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Union sources representing workers say more than 14,000 employees at meat packing plants have been infected with coronavirus and 65 have died.
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An analysis of data collected by the Food and Environment Reporting Network (FERN) since mid-April found a larger number, with more than 32,000 covid-19 cases and 109 deaths among food system workers.
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He added that “the actual count is probably much higher, as the irregularities in the data, including the industry’s reluctance to share data on worker illnesses and the inconsistent availability of state figures, make it impossible to know exactly how many workers they have contracted. the virus”.
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The number of cases has slowed in recent weeks after companies like Tyson implemented a series of security measures, such as plexiglass workstation dividers, social distancing in dining rooms, better personal protective equipment for workers, and numerous hand sanitizing stations.
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Meat companies, including Smithfield Foods and JBS USA, have been sued by the families of several workers who died of coronavirus, according to press reports.
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