UFCW Local 293 pushing for COVID-19 precautions in Smithfield Foods plant
Chants were heard echoing in Lincoln's Haymarket District on Thursday. Union workers, flood plant employees and volunteers gathered to voice their concerns with the current conditions at Smithfield’s meatpacking plant in Lincoln.
“They need protections,” said Bernardo Bercerra. “When workers get COVID [Smithfield] makes them work.”
Bercerra said he and his wife worked in a Smithfield plant for 11 years and explained 2020 was tough.
“For me, it was pretty bad because my wife got sick. My wife got it, my mom got it, and I got it,” said Bercerra. “We were worried that we were going to get fired.”
UFCW Local 293 is fighting back and negotiating a union contract with Smithfield that includes COVID-19 safety precautions.
“The workers have been elbow-to-elbow in a lot of cases, even with plexiglass dividers,” said Local 293 President Eric Reeder. “You still have a lot of people going to break in one group, you still have ventilation problems. Even with the protections they’ve put in, there are still many more things they can do. The company showed no interest in putting COVID restrictions in the contract, which illustrates why LB 241 is so important.”
LB 241 would require safety precautions for all meatpacking workers. The bill will include things like 6 feet social distance, face masks and paid sick leave.