Monopolies and Governments Are Responsible for Devastating COVID-19 Outbreak at Cargill and Other Meat-Packing Plants
- Peggy Morton -
As of April 22, 440 workers at the
Cargill meat
processing plant in High River, Alberta, south of Calgary, have been
found to be infected with COVID-19 and one worker has died. With
community spread, including family members, there are now 580
cases linked to the plant. They include cases in long-term care homes
where family members of workers at Cargill work. On April 20, Cargill
finally announced a temporary closure of the plant. Two thousand people
work at the plant.
Ninety-six COVID-19 cases have also been confirmed
at
the JBS meat packing plant in Brooks, Alberta. A worker has died at
JBS, with the cause of death not yet confirmed. JBS refuses to
close the plant despite the demands of the workers and their
union. One case at the Harmony beef plant in Balzac, Alberta
in
March has been resolved. The three plants represent approximately
three-quarters of beef suppliers in Canada. Also in Alberta, there are
to date 32 confirmed cases directly linked to the Imperial Oil Kearl
Lake oil sands project north of Fort McMurray. This is a "fly-in,
fly-out" operation where workers come in from many parts of Canada, and
cases have now spread to BC, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia. In all, one
in five cases of COVID-19 in Alberta are linked to outbreaks in these
two sectors, with the number expected to grow according to the Chief
Medical Officer of Health.
 Workers'
Forumexpresses
heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and co-workers
of the workers who died and to those who are sick. This tragedy did not
need to happen. It happened because these gigantic global monopolies
are allowed to do as they please and conduct "business as usual"
according to self-serving definitions of health
and safety. It happened because the right of the workers to have the
final word on safe working conditions during the pandemic was denied,
and the proposals of the union ignored. It also happened because many
workers are Filipino contract workers who are vulnerable and considered
expendable. All of it reveals the inhumanity of those who have usurped
the positions of power, how detached they are from the problems of the
working people about which they know nothing and reveals the
absence of a public authority which will take responsibility, and the
unbridled greed of this gigantic global monopoly which does not
recognize that workers are human beings but treats them as things.
These sectors have been deemed "essential services" by the Alberta
government and on this basis employers have been given license to
conduct
"business as usual" through self-serving definitions of "what is
possible." This shows a broken system in which the state has been
restructured so no vestige of a public authority is left.
The growing size of the outbreaks at
the High River
Cargill plant and Brooks JBS plant and at the Kearl Lake oil sands
plant show that the workers and Canadian people cannot trust
these
gigantic global monopolies with their health and safety. The workers
know what is needed and have put forward the required actions, but the
human factor/social consciousness has been blocked by the greed and
narrow self-interest of the owners.
Proposals to Ensure Safety at Cargill Plant
Disregarded
"It's a tragedy. We asked days and days ago for
[the Cargill plant] to be
closed temporarily for two weeks, send all of the workers home with pay
to isolate. That was when we were aware of 38 cases. That was before
they set up a dedicated testing facility in the area. We'll never know
how much lower that number might've been," United Food and
Commercial Workers Union Local 401 President Tom Hesse said on April 17.
On March 20, the union called for concrete
measures to protect the
workers and the right of Canadians to a secure food supply. The union
presented a plan to reconfigure the workplace, putting more distance
between workers. It proposed extending the work week to allow the line
to slow and social distancing and rigorous safety measures to be
implemented. The union also called for accommodations for workers at
increased risk if they contract COVID-19, for workers impacted by
school and daycare closures, voluntary overtime and waiving of sick
note requirements.
Cargill did not bother to answer the proposals for
social distancing
on the work floor. Instead, the company arrogantly declared, "We have
made several decisions through the lens of putting people first as we
try to minimize the financial hardship our employees are facing." It
then called on the union to urge people to come to work.
"Minimizing the financial hardship" apparently meant keeping the lines
going full speed at all costs.
On April 12, 250 workers signed a letter to the
Mayor of High River
calling on him to support their call to close the plant for two weeks,
CBC reported on April 19. On April 13, UFCW Local 401 President Tom
Hesse also publicly demanded a temporary two-week shutdown of the plant
to conduct a comprehensive assessment of its safety,
with full compensation paid to every worker. The union also demanded
"an immediate meeting with Union officials, experts, and government
officials of appropriate competency and jurisdiction to design clear
and enforceable rules around health and safety in your workplace." At
the time Hesse pointed out that 30 members of the UFCW have died
across North America and that it is time to act and protect lives.
On April 14, Cargill temporarily eliminated one
shift and laid off
1,000 workers, UFCW reported. Several days later, all activity was
suspended on the "kill floor" while beef continued to be processed. The
plant normally processes about 4,000 head of cattle each day and is one
of the two primary beef suppliers for McDonald's Canada.
 While
the workers and their union have been very active in speaking out about
what is required, neither Cargill nor the Alberta government has taken
any responsibility for the consequences of their decisions to refuse to
accept the informed decisions of the workers as to what was needed. It
puts the lie to the claims that "we are all in this
together."
All along, Alberta Agriculture Minister Devin
Dreeshen has
maintained that government agencies had worked to keep essential
services open "and to ensure protocols are in place in the event of
worker illness" and that he is confident the plant is safe. He repeated
the claim that the plant is "safe" in a teleconference with the workers
on April
18.
The authorities are now trying to divert from the
issues
being raised about the working conditions and instead are blaming the
workers and their living conditions, suggesting that the spread was not
at work but in car pooling and households where it is impossible to
self-isolate because of cramped living conditions. This is to suggest
that their accommodations have no relation to the low wages of the
workers, and to cover up that Cargill is in fact responsible
for
making housing arrangements for temporary foreign workers who work at
Cargill.
The workers and their union have repeatedly
exposed this cover-up as
false. The conditions in the plant make social distancing impossible as
the workers are "elbow to elbow" on the line. Workers told the CBC they
have been pressured to return to work after testing positive. As well,
Cargill brought in bonuses and hourly wage increases,
which workers would be eligible for only if they are present for every
shift. Punishing those who become sick with COVID-19 or for complying
with isolation measures is beneath contempt.
The system is broken when no one will take
responsibility. Both
Cargill and the provincial government knew the virus was spreading
since early April. The federal government is responsible for inspection
of meat packing facilities, and certainly should have mandated
inspectors to take action. But no one accepts any responsibility for
this
situation.
What is being revealed is not only the brutality
of
these monopolies who have seized control of Canada's food supply, but
that neither the government nor the monopolies can be trusted to defend
anything but their own self-interest and control of decision-making in
the service of the financial oligarchy. The workers have the right to
decide whether working conditions are safe and acceptable to them. In
defending themselves, the workers have also fought to prevent the
spread of COVID for which Cargill and the governments in its service
must take full responsibility. The JBS plant must be closed at
once, and a full public investigation held at once into the actions and
negligence of these monopolies, the Alberta government and Alberta
Health Services. The workers must have the final say, and the plants
must not be reopened until the workers agree that acceptable conditions
are in place.
This article was published in
Number 24 - April 23, 2020
Article Link:
Monopolies and Governments Are Responsible for Devastating COVID-19 Outbreak at Cargill and Other Meat-Packing Plants - Peggy Morton
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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