{"id":618,"date":"2020-07-08T19:14:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T19:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmstand.chee.studio\/press-release-meat-workers-and-allies-nationwide-file-racial-discrimination-complaint-to-challenge-meat-processing-corporation-actions-alleging-racial-discrimination-in-disastrous-covid-19-response\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T07:19:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T07:19:57","slug":"press-release-meat-workers-and-allies-nationwide-file-racial-discrimination-complaint-to-challenge-meat-processing-corporation-actions-alleging-racial-discrimination-in-disastrous-covid-19-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farmstand.org\/es\/press-release-meat-workers-and-allies-nationwide-file-racial-discrimination-complaint-to-challenge-meat-processing-corporation-actions-alleging-racial-discrimination-in-disastrous-covid-19-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Meat Workers and Allies File Complaint Challenging Meat Processing Corporation Actions, Alleging Racial Discrimination in Disastrous COVID-19 Response"},"content":{"rendered":"

Administrative complaint argues that USDA must end federal support for dominant meat processing corporations disregard Black, Latino, and Asian lives and wellbeing<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A nationwide coalition of organizations that advocate for meat processing workers, and allied groups, today filed an administrative civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging that in addition to being disastrous for the wellbeing of workers and for public health, two major meat processing corporations\u2019 have engaged in racial discrimination prohibited by the Civil Rights Act through their workplace policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complaint alleges that megacorporations Tyson and JBS have adopted policies that reject critical Centers for Disease Control guidance \u2013 social distancing on meat processing lines \u2013 to stop the spread of COVID-19 at their processing facilities and that the results of their current operating procedures have a discriminatory impact on the predominantly Black, Latino, and Asian workforce at the companies\u2019 plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

http:\/\/farmstand.org\/case\/food-chain-workers-alliance-v-tyson-foods-title-vi-complaint\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the federal money that flows to the corporations in the form of federal Farm Bill nutrition program and Trade Mitigation Program contracts, this disparate impact violates federal civil rights law. The complainants ask that the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Office of Civil Rights suspend, terminate, and refuse to provide financial assistance to these two companies as a result of this racial discrimination, and to refer the complaint to the Department of Justice for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complainants in this administrative complaint are Food Chain Workers Alliance<\/a>, el Rural Community Workers Alliance<\/a>, el HEAL Food Alliance<\/a>, Forward Latino<\/a>, American Friends Service Committee \u2013 Iowa<\/a>, y el Idaho Organization of Resource Councils<\/a>. They are represented by Public Justice, Nichols Kaster PLLP, and Towards Justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the complaint filed today, \u201cThe Policies discriminate on the basis of race by causing a substantial adverse effect on Black, Latino, and Asian workers. In addition, publicly available facts indicate a pattern or practice of discrimination. Existing social inequities compound this discrimination for Black and Latino workers, including higher death rates and higher hospitalization rates than white people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of July 6, the Food & Environment Reporting Network reports that there are at least 292 meatpacking processing plants<\/a> with confirmed cases, with at least 40,081 meatpacking workers testing positive for, and at least 138 meatpacking workers dying from, COVID-19.  As of July 7, the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting documents that Tyson and JBS have the first and  second most COVID-19 cases tied to their meat processing facilities, respectively, with a combined total of at least 12,495 positive cases<\/a>. The complainants in this action allege that the policies at Tyson and JBS reject social distancing among workers at a minimum six feet of separation, as called for by the CDC. This impacts workers by increasing the risk of contracting COVID-19. The complaint alleges that the policies serve the objective of meeting pre-pandemic processing capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention corroborate this Complaint. On July 7, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published data collected through May 31, 2020, analyzed the COVID-19 disparate impact suffered by workers in meat processing facilities, and discussed the measures implemented \u2013 or more importantly not implemented \u2013 at such facilities. The CDC Disparity Report found that, based on 21 states reporting race and ethnicity data, \u201cHispanic and Asian workers might be disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in this workplace setting.\u201d The Report does not identify cualquier<\/em> instances of facilities reporting adoption of the minimum 6-foot social distancing measure to protect workers on processing lines<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of June 6, 2020, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue reported that meat processing plants \u201care operating more than 95% of their average capacity compared to this time last year.\u201d The New York Times reports that exports of pork and beef have surged during the first four months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. In addition, USDA cold storage data through May 31, 2020, shows that the amount of beef and chicken in cold storage increased compared to the same period last year, while the pork inventory represented 74 percent of the amount at the end of May 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a recent study, Black, Latino, and Asian workers make up 69.6 percent (25.2, 44.4, and 10, respectively) of frontline workers in meat processing plants, but only 61.9 percent (22.5, 39.4, and 7, respectively) of all meatpacking workers, and 28.7 percent (11.9, 16.8 and 6.6, respectively) of all U.S. workers. Conversely, white workers are underrepresented in frontline meatpacking positions. Although white workers make up 34.5 percent of all meatpacking workers, and 63.5 percent of all U.S. workers, only 19.1 percent of frontline meatpacking workers are white. In addition, over 73 percent of Tyson\u2019s salaried employees are white, and over 58 percent of JBS\u2019s management is white. Racial disparities not only influences who bears the risk of contracting COVID-19 and spreading the virus in meat processing plants, but also who will suffer more from having the illness: Black and Latino people are more likely to suffer seriously from COVID-19 than white people because of social inequities, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s administrative complaint is filed with the USDA<\/a>, because each of these megacorporations received significant sums of public contracts through USDA in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The USDA\u2019s Agricultural Marketing Service has entered into contracts with the corporations under several Farm Bill nutritional and Trade Mitigation Program departmental programs, a primary objective of which is to support agricultural jobs and the agricultural economy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n