Packing plant and food processing workers testify during a hearing in the Nebraska Legislature on an amendment to strengthen COVID-19 coronavirus protective measures in meat-processing plants across the Cornhusker State.
Introduced by Omaha State Senator Tony Vargas, the amendment proposes changes to LB 667, requiring meat-packing employers to provide proper social distancing, regular disinfecting, and paid sick leave to those who contract COVID-19.
The amendment also calls for meatpacking companies to track coronavirus-related deaths and positive cases daily at each of its facilities and report those numbers to state government every week.
Meat-packing workers, some through a translator, recounted struggles faced inside the facilities, from a lack of information about positive cases to failing PPE to an absence of sanitary protocols.
Some also accused the plants of basic OSHA violations.
"Tyson" responds by issuing a statement that the company is following CDC and government Covid-19 protocols.