About 35% of food processing and dairy facilities have had at least one confirmed Covid-19 case, according to an International Brotherhood of Teamsters survey in May of union locals representing 79 plants. Roughly 80% of employers weren’t testing for the virus and more than a quarter of the workplaces didn’t allow employees to physically distance themselves 6 feet apart, the survey showed.
The Teamsters union is planning a national “call to action” on Wednesday with demonstrations in almost 30 cities for better protection of food supply-chain workers.
Still, the Teamsters have seen a “marked decline” in reports of outbreaks at union-represented food processing facilities in the past several weeks as employers have established more robust safety procedures, said Rome Aloise, director of the union’s dairy and food processing divisions. Union-represented employers are doing more no-touch temperature testing, strict adherence to safety protocols, including use of protective gear, and placing portable sanitation stations in workspaces, Aloise said.
“Non-union counterparts aren’t doing the same things,” he said.
Zambrano, the fruit worker in Washington, said her employer was initially slow to implement measures but now takes temperatures as employees enter work, provides masks and maintains social distancing.
Industry trade groups say that employers have invested heavily in measures to protect workers against infection risk while continuing to operate to maintain the nation’s food supply.
But employers have also run into issues because of shifting direction from authorities on proper protective measures. For example, fruit packers were initially told masks were unnecessary and were encouraged to donate inventories for use by health care workers, said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. Employers were then confronted with short supplies of protective equipment when the advice changed, he said.
“We have to stay open to supply essential goods for the American people,” said Geoff Freeman, president of the Consumer Brands Association. Companies have taken many steps to protect workers, including providing protective equipment and by implementing “aggressive” measures to make sure sick employees who stay home are compensated, he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration included food-processing facilities in jointly issued industry-specific guidance for manufacturing. Freeman said more protocols are needed, including, as one example, direction on what portion of positive cases in a workforce should trigger a plant shutdown.
“Make no mistake: We cannot eliminate the risk. The challenge for us is to mitigate the risk,” Freeman said. “You have different companies approaching this in different ways. The more we have federal clarity, the more we can have consistency.”