CORONA Perdue Farms Chicken Plant Workers Walk Out over Coronavirus Fears

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
_______________
www.breitbart.com /border/2020/03/25/perdue-farms-chicken-plant-workers-walk-out-over-coronavirus-fears/

Perdue Farms Chicken Plant Workers Walk Out over Coronavirus Fears
Bob Price
4-5 minutes
Workers at the Perdue Farms Inc. processing plant prepare cleaned and gutted chickens for packaging at the plant in Accomac, Va. Tuesday Sept. 30, 1997. At a time when the recent recall of 25 million pounds of possibly contaminated ground beef has renewed concern about food safety, the meat and …
AP File Photo/J.Scott Applewhite
4:03
About 50 employees at a Georgia chicken plant walked out on Monday expressing concerns that the facility is not being sanitized and employees exposed to Coronavirus remain on the line.
“All we’re asking now is just to sanitize the building. Sanitize the building,” Perdue Farms employee Kendaliyn Granville told a reporter from 13WMAZ. Everybody that’s been exposed to it, they need to go home. These folks are still on the floor.”

On Monday, about 50 employees of a Perdue plant in Kathleen, Georgia, walked off the job and staged a protest, the local CBS affiliate reported. Local sheriff’s deputies eventually broke up the assembly.
Granville told the reporter there are people who say they have been exposed to the Coronavirus who continue to work. She said the company claims they are sanitizing the building every night, but she says there is food on the floor from the night before when she comes in for the morning shift.
“We’re up here risking our life for chicken,” Granville said. “We’re not getting nothing — no type of compensation, no nothing, not even no cleanliness, no extra pay — no nothing.”
Purdue officials responded to the workers’ concerns in a written statement sent to WMAZ.
“We know that many are feeling anxious during these uncertain times, and we’re doing everything we can to take good care of our Associates while continuing to produce safe and reliable food. Last week, the federal government deemed food industry workers as mission-critical personnel,” Purdue officials stated. “This is a huge responsibility, and we are committed to fulfilling it while keeping our Associates safe.”
The statement continues:
We’ve stepped up a number of our protocols to help ensure the health and wellness of our Associates, such as:
  • We’ve increased cleaning protocols in all of our offices and facilities, not only for sanitation but also in common areas, cafeterias, and locker rooms.
  • All of our associates have up to four weeks of paid time off, and we encourage them to stay home if they feel ill or may have been exposed to the virus. Importantly, we are also working to make our paid leave policies even more flexible during this time to be responsive and provide added relief to Associates.
  • We’ve encouraged any Associate feeling ill to call his or her local healthcare provider, or make use of the onsite Wellness Centers at our facilities, which are available to all Associates and their families free of charge. The staff at our Wellness Centers are trained on how to protect our Associates from, and identify and respond to, symptoms of COVID-19. These professionals follow standard operating procedures as defined by the CDC for infectious diseases. We have extended the hours of many of our onsite Wellness Centers for the foreseeable future.
Knowing that the COVID-19 situation is very fluid, we are assessing our policies as needed and are making sure we take thoughtful care of our Associates as it continues to evolve.
Thanks in large part to our dedicated Associates, Perdue, together with other food companies, will play a meaningful part in helping to keep people fed as the world grapples with and recovers from this significant challenge.
Granville responded, “You want us to go back on the floor to work? No, first sanitize the line, something, because this is not a playing matter. This is not a game.”
Breitbart News reached out to Perdue Farms officials for additional information regarding the impact of worker concerns on production. An immediate response was not available. Phone inquiries went to an “after-hours” answering system.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.
 

NCGirl

Veteran Member
We have a whole lot of chicken and hog producers in Eastern NC. My childhood best friends family owned a large facility and poulty/hog farm. She jokes that the illegals used to be very hard-working and afraid of ICE busts, but now they threaten to take sue for not having the right "free" sodas for their multiple breaks.
 

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
www.breitbart.com /border/2020/03/25/perdue-farms-chicken-plant-workers-walk-out-over-coronavirus-fears/

Perdue Farms Chicken Plant Workers Walk Out over Coronavirus Fears
Bob Price
4-5 minutes
Workers at the Perdue Farms Inc. processing plant prepare cleaned and gutted chickens for packaging at the plant in Accomac, Va. Tuesday Sept. 30, 1997. At a time when the recent recall of 25 million pounds of possibly contaminated ground beef has renewed concern about food safety, the meat and …
AP File Photo/J.Scott Applewhite
4:03
About 50 employees at a Georgia chicken plant walked out on Monday expressing concerns that the facility is not being sanitized and employees exposed to Coronavirus remain on the line.
“All we’re asking now is just to sanitize the building. Sanitize the building,” Perdue Farms employee Kendaliyn Granville told a reporter from 13WMAZ. Everybody that’s been exposed to it, they need to go home. These folks are still on the floor.”

On Monday, about 50 employees of a Perdue plant in Kathleen, Georgia, walked off the job and staged a protest, the local CBS affiliate reported. Local sheriff’s deputies eventually broke up the assembly.
Granville told the reporter there are people who say they have been exposed to the Coronavirus who continue to work. She said the company claims they are sanitizing the building every night, but she says there is food on the floor from the night before when she comes in for the morning shift.
“We’re up here risking our life for chicken,” Granville said. “We’re not getting nothing — no type of compensation, no nothing, not even no cleanliness, no extra pay — no nothing.”
Purdue officials responded to the workers’ concerns in a written statement sent to WMAZ.
“We know that many are feeling anxious during these uncertain times, and we’re doing everything we can to take good care of our Associates while continuing to produce safe and reliable food. Last week, the federal government deemed food industry workers as mission-critical personnel,” Purdue officials stated. “This is a huge responsibility, and we are committed to fulfilling it while keeping our Associates safe.”
The statement continues:

Granville responded, “You want us to go back on the floor to work? No, first sanitize the line, something, because this is not a playing matter. This is not a game.”
Breitbart News reached out to Perdue Farms officials for additional information regarding the impact of worker concerns on production. An immediate response was not available. Phone inquiries went to an “after-hours” answering system.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.
I am of two minds on this....

a) You are paid to do a job.... suck it up or quit.....
b) Crappy company for not trying to show some appreciation to the people for showing up and working during a crisis.
 

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
And so it begins. The destruction of the food supply chain from the production end rather than consumer side.
One of the big questions still outstanding is as follows:

a) DCs have a bunch of stock but it is beginning to run low.
b) There are enough truckers, but they are getting sick and their numbers are low.

That only takes care of us for 30-45 days.... maybe.....know one knows for sure, but those who may know are quiet.

After that, the question is whether or not the food is still shipping to processors. Then are the processors still processing the food into a preserved form. Do they even have the supplies to can /etc the food so it is preserved.

We could be looking at a serious problem before too long..... it really depends on who is sick and what they make...
 

jward

passin' thru
Used to be I'd go to the store to "get a few more things" and that meant fruits & veggies---
This week it was a few dozen more "impulse buy" chickens.

I suggest we use this time to really hit the local HOAs, and governing bodies and those communities that do not already have the rights to garden and keep a small # of fowl need to get that rolled back ASAP.
Then get out there and start TCOB to whatever degree is possible. I can't yet imagine that this event will that drastically impede our food supply. No reason to let a crisis go to waste, though.
 

Melodi

Disaster Cat
I just saw on the news that the same thing happened in Northern Ireland, there the poultry plant workers went on strike over a lack of protective gear and the company refusing to allow for social distancing space between employees.
 

twobarkingdogs

Veteran Member
If everyone goes out and buys chicks to raise then we'll have a shortage of chicken feed.

I posted about 2 weeks ago that the last time I was at my local feed store that the women who ran the place said that her last order had been shorted and she didn't get as much feed as she had ordered. I have not been back since then but it makes me a bit concerned. We are coming up on spring and summer so my birds can range and forage for a lot of what they eat but soon fall will be here and that will dry up. So I hope that a bunch of folks living in the burbs don't take up raising chickens in their back yards and buy up all of the feed.

Dog food factories is another thing that concerns me. If the poultry plants shut down then there will be less raw materials to make into dog food. Plus if the workers their do the same thing as in the OP production will slow or stop and then we have hungry dogs all over the place.

My take though from the OP was that this was the start of a unionizing effort at the company. Perdue should throw the workers a bone and grant a temporary couple of dollar increase in pay for the duration of the crisis.

tbd
 

Farmgal

Senior Member
You don’t get it unless you have to deal with that crap. It’s like telling nurses, doctors, and health care people without any PPE equipment to suck it up. They’re sucking up every bit of it ... literally.

Yes, well said.
 

raven

TB Fanatic
yea, i thought about buying a couple more chickens
and then I read that bit about people who been exposed to it still workin the line
and I think that girl in the picture is from south of the border and ask myself "is that one of the countries that don't wash their hands?"
nope - not gonna make a special trip for more chicken
 

Faroe

Un-spun
If everyone goes out and buys chicks to raise then we'll have a shortage of chicken feed.

I posted about 2 weeks ago that the last time I was at my local feed store that the women who ran the place said that her last order had been shorted and she didn't get as much feed as she had ordered. I have not been back since then but it makes me a bit concerned. We are coming up on spring and summer so my birds can range and forage for a lot of what they eat but soon fall will be here and that will dry up. So I hope that a bunch of folks living in the burbs don't take up raising chickens in their back yards and buy up all of the feed.

Dog food factories is another thing that concerns me. If the poultry plants shut down then there will be less raw materials to make into dog food. Plus if the workers their do the same thing as in the OP production will slow or stop and then we have hungry dogs all over the place.

My take though from the OP was that this was the start of a unionizing effort at the company. Perdue should throw the workers a bone and grant a temporary couple of dollar increase in pay for the duration of the crisis.

tbd
We stocked as much chicken feed as I could reasonably store. Quite a bit more than usual. When it runs out, we'll use the pecan harvest that I didn't sell this year. Chickens love pecans. Remains to be seen if they will love eating ONLY pecans. It is what it is. Do what you can with what you have. I'm willing to miss a meal before my three dogs go hungry.
 

Walrus Whisperer

Hope in chains...
My Slow White Broiler order was supposed to be here today... they called this morning to say they "ran out" and will be shipped next week. I think I'd better start guessing how many CornishX I'm going to need and get them ordered immediately!

Summerthyme
I've got 20 chicks growing out now, 8 cuckoo marans cause of those dark choc brown eggs, the rest are a mix of, various new hamp, Rhode isle reds, I can't remember the rest. I'm gonna worm the old ladies Friday so I can keep the eggs from Monday.
Those cornishX are, feed them and Stand back before they knock you over!
 

summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
If you haven't had them before, you're going to love the Cuckoo Marana! Nice birds, but great eggs! Hubby swears they're "better" than the others... for sure, the shell quality is much better than most. And they lay well, even through our sometimes brutal winters. I currently only have a Maran rooster, but he's a sweetheart, and his offspring (easily seen because the barred pattern shows up on all of them) are a bit heavier than their mothers (True Blues and Americaunas), and have much stronger eggshells.

And yes, that's CornishX! You have to see them to believe how fast they grow. Just make sure to limit their feed to 12 hours a day, or they'll start dying of heart attacks around week 4. They call it "flip", because you'll find them dead on their back, with no signs of violence... unless the rest have started eating them, of course!

Summerthyme
 

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________
Why should their employers "throw them a bone"? They agreed to do a job for a certain amount of money. They can't stop in the middle of the job and blackmail the employer. If they are at the end of a contract period they can walk off and not get paid but otherwise, they need to honor their agreement to work.

And, if they are green card holders when they walk off the job they may be in violation of either a civil or criminal code and therefore they should lose that green card status.

I don't want slavery but they aren't working for slave wages either. And they'd be working for far less in their country of origin.

If they are illegals then deport their butts. Period.

And before the unions get involved they better make sure all of those workers are here legal and have the right to retain their green cards. Let's see another couple of rounds of checking on employment statuses at places like this.

Sorry, I just have zero sympathy when it comes to blackmail.

Dealt with a worker today that tried to pull similar crap. I fired him after giving him multiple chances, and made sure that his firing wasn't only about his fear of the corona virus. He's been falling down on the job, been late multiple times, and certain items have gone missing from his truck inventory. He's already been replaced. Less than an hour later. Another may go the same way tomorrow. I've already sent in the paperwork that will prevent him from getting unemployment no questions asked. There will have to be a hearing to determined if he qualifies now and now such hearings are being scheduled for a bit. Momma don't play 'cause I have a family to feed too. You sign a contract then you better hold up your end because we absolutely do and then some.
 

tiredude

Veteran Member
These places are HORRIBLE. Clean the friggin factory on third shift. Make 2/3 of your quota and try to keep your supply chain intact. These people have a right to live and I would prefer not to have sick people handling our food supply.

By the way..... it takes 6 weeks to grow chickens. Usually the 'farms' are close by these places (relatively speaking}. If need be maybe someone could buy from the farmers that supply Perdue or any of the slaughterhouses.
 

fish hook

Deceased
These places are HORRIBLE. Clean the friggin factory on third shift. Make 2/3 of your quota and try to keep your supply chain intact. These people have a right to live and I would prefer not to have sick people handling our food supply.

By the way..... it takes 6 weeks to grow chickens. Usually the 'farms' are close by these places (relatively speaking}. If need be maybe someone could buy from the farmers that supply Perdue or any of the slaughterhouses.
If it is like it used to be,almost all the producer are under contract.They don't buy them,they can't sell them,they just feed them out and call the truck.
 

subnet

Boot
Why should their employers "throw them a bone"? They agreed to do a job for a certain amount of money. They can't stop in the middle of the job and blackmail the employer. If they are at the end of a contract period they can walk off and not get paid but otherwise, they need to honor their agreement to work.

And, if they are green card holders when they walk off the job they may be in violation of either a civil or criminal code and therefore they should lose that green card status.

I don't want slavery but they aren't working for slave wages either. And they'd be working for far less in their country of origin.

If they are illegals then deport their butts. Period.

And before the unions get involved they better make sure all of those workers are here legal and have the right to retain their green cards. Let's see another couple of rounds of checking on employment statuses at places like this.

Sorry, I just have zero sympathy when it comes to blackmail.

Dealt with a worker today that tried to pull similar crap. I fired him after giving him multiple chances, and made sure that his firing wasn't only about his fear of the corona virus. He's been falling down on the job, been late multiple times, and certain items have gone missing from his truck inventory. He's already been replaced. Less than an hour later. Another may go the same way tomorrow. I've already sent in the paperwork that will prevent him from getting unemployment no questions asked. There will have to be a hearing to determined if he qualifies now and now such hearings are being scheduled for a bit. Momma don't play 'cause I have a family to feed too. You sign a contract then you better hold up your end because we absolutely do and then some.
Guaranteed... possibly contracting a pandemic causing virus wasn't in their "contract"
Either look out for your employees or you get what you get....its up to you.
 

zeker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
If it is like it used to be,almost all the producer are under contract.They don't buy them,they can't sell them,they just feed them out and call the truck.


I had a friend who contracted with libbys/Heinz to grow tomatoes

once the quota was reached, no tomatoes could be sold.. anywhere

not even farm gate or farmers market

couldn't even give them to food bank

all extras had to be tilled under

contracts
 

Snyper

Veteran Member
yea, i thought about buying a couple more chickens
and then I read that bit about people who been exposed to it still workin the line
and I think that girl in the picture is from south of the border and ask myself "is that one of the countries that don't wash their hands?"
nope - not gonna make a special trip for more chicken
Unless you plan to eat it raw it won't matter.
 

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
_______________
Our JIT system is a continuous process. Interrupt one step and the whole thing jambs up.

It might be something as simple as the little styrofoam trays that chickens are packed in....made in china.

At least there are multiple streams of domestic products, for the most part.
 

Raggedyman

Res ipsa loquitur
Our JIT system is a continuous process. Interrupt one step and the whole thing jambs up.

It might be something as simple as the little styrofoam trays that chickens are packed in....made in china.

At least there are multiple streams of domestic products, for the most part.


THIS^^
we are going to see the true disasters that JIT and GLOBALISM are up close and personal
 

Paladin1

"In Omnia Paratus" is more than just a phrase
THIS^^
we are going to see the true disasters that JIT and GLOBALISM are up close and personal
It's already started, just most people aren't aware yet because it's happening in the manufacturing phase and not to the end products.

Telecom is starting to have serious supply problems with certain pieces of equipment and raw materials, ESPECIALLY infrastructure materials, due to the Country of Origin. You wouldn't believe how much of our infrastructure materials come from China because of how cheaply they can make certain kinds of steel.

If something so basic is becoming hard to acquire in one field, you can guarantee that it's the same story in other sectors as well.
 
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