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The [Monday] Papers"Meat-processing giant Smithfield Foods is closing two of its facilities in Illinois, its latest moves to shut down meatpacking plants due to the coronavirus pandemic," WBEZ reports. The Kane County Health Department said Saturday that it ordered Smithfield to temporarily close its plant in west suburban St. Charles, where 325 people make pork products. The department said it took the action after hearing worker complaints that the plant wasn't following social distancing and cleaning guidelines. Smithfield is a repeat offender. In fact, the entire industry is filled with bad actors. "Three of the nation's largest meat processors failed to provide protective gear to all workers, and some employees say they were told to continue working in crowded plants even while sick as the coronavirus spread around the country and turned the facilities into infection hot spots, a Washington Post investigation has found. "The actions by three major meat producers - Tyson Foods, JBS USA and Smithfield Foods - continued even after federal guidelines on social distancing and personal protective equipment were published March 9, according to 25 interviews with employees, elected officials, regional health officials, union leaders and federal safety inspectors as well as dozens of documents, including worker complaints filed with local and federal officials." And don't forget OSI's Rose Packing Company on the South Side - see the item "Meat Packing Mess." * Back to WBEZ: "The closing in St. Charles comes after Smithfield announced Friday that it will shutter operations at its Monmouth, Illinois, plant beginning Monday until further notice. "A 'small portion' of the plant's 1,700 employees tested positive for COVID-19, Virginia-based Smithfield announced." Don't they have to publicly report just how many people constitute a "small portion?" * "Smithfield also has closed meatpacking plants in Cudahy, Wisconsin; Martin City, Missouri; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota." * "The news comes after a lawsuit filed Thursday in Missouri federal court accused Smithfield of failing to provide employees at a Missouri plant adequate protective equipment, NBC News reported. The lawsuit also alleges that Smithfield refused to give employees time to wash their hands." * Midwest governors should form a pact to deal with these folks, because this is just downright immoral: Meatpackers' Dilemma: Health vs. Paycheck. "[Bernabe] Rodriguez immigrated from Mexico to Chicago, but the city's crime rate scared him. His sister, who worked at the plant, suggested he visit in 2001. He fell in love with Columbus Junction's slower pace, raised two children here and started two businesses." Every night felt like a drawn-out countdown, a staring contest with his alarm clock's red lights. And yet: "Mayor Mark Huston said Tyson has done 'everything they know' to protect workers." * Meanwhile, in Indiana . . . "Tyson Foods Inc. announced Wednesday that it will temporarily close its meatpacking plant in north-central Indiana after 146 employees tested positive for coronavirus." Obviously these aren't isolated incidents but a systemic, company-wide, industry-wide problem. And it didn't just start with COVID-19, though hopefully that's where it will end. * The related news out of Nebraska: Meatpacking Woes Lead Farmers To Consider Euthanizing Hogs, Holding Back Market-Ready Cattle. (The same with two million chickens in Delaware and Maryland.) Of course, a functioning federal government would be on top of all this. Unfortunately, we don't currently have a functioning federal government. As a result, the meat supply in the wealthiest, most powerful nation the world has ever known is threatened. * "This all could have been prevented," Debbie Berkowitz, a former senior OSHA official who is an expert on meat processing plants, told the Washington Post. "Workers are paying with their lives and their health because their industry decided not to implement basic safety precautions and OSHA decided to bury its head in the sand and tell workers 'You're on your own.'" - Playing House
- New on the Beachwood . . . The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #301: Ryan Pace's Last Dance * TrackNotes: Hot Times In Hot Springs * Send Everyone A Ballot * Immigrants And Epidemics - ChicagoReddit I've always loved walking by this flowerpot man in Irving Park, a couple of days ago he got a mask! from r/chicago - ChicagoGram - ChicagoTube "Only In Chicago" / Barry Manilow Warning: This is so awful it could cause long-term damage. Listen at your own risk. - BeachBook When Bubonic Plague First Struck America, Officials Tried To Cover It Up. * Cubs Fan Dillinger Played Baseball Before He Robbed Banks. * Saying Goodbye To The Lovely, Gentle Kizzie. - TweetWood
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- The Beachwood Q-TIp Line: People suck. And you let them. Posted on April 27, 2020 |
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