President Trump signed an executive order compeling meat-processing plants to remain open, declaring them critical infrastructure.
President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that compels slaughterhouses to remain open, setting up a showdown between the giant companies that produce America’s meat and the unions and activists who want to protect workers in a pandemic.
The move came just days after Tyson Foods Inc., the biggest U.S. meat processor, ran paid ads in national newspapers stating that the food supply chain was “broken.”A handful of companies produce the majority of the nation’s meat, and as workers fell sick in March, plants initially continued to run. But pressure from local health officials and unions led to voluntary closures.
While unions have been speaking out against unsafe plant conditions and working for boosts in pay, collective bargaining agreements often restrict them from organizing or endorsing strikes. Still, lives are at stake, unions say.“People should never be expected to put their lives at risk by going to work,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
Shares of Tyson and poultry producer Sanderson Farms Inc. extended gains after news of the expected order, while shares of JBS, the world’s top meat producer, were little changed.JBS’ local unit and Smithfield Foods Inc. didn’t immediately respond to calls and emails, while Tyson and Cargill Inc. said they couldn’t comment because they didn’t have the executive order.
Illnesses in the meat-processing industry and shifts in demand after restaurants closed have disrupted the supply chain. Dairy farmers are dumping milk that can’t be sold to processors; broiler operations have been breaking eggs to reduce supplies; and some fruit and vegetables are rotting in fields amid labor and distribution disruptions.Many low-income Americans, meanwhile, have been waiting in long lines at food banks, which have reported shortages.
White House General Counsel Pat Cipollone worked with private companies to design a federal mandate to keep the plants open and to provide them additional virus testing capacity as well as protective gear.Trump acted the day after Iowa’s two U.S. senators and its governor urged the administration to invoke the Defense Production Act to keep meatpackers open and reopen closed facilities “as soon as it is possible to do so safely.
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