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Pence tells U.S. food workers ‘do your job’ amid virus

By James Attwood and Isis Almeida, Bloomberg News
Published: April 8, 2020, 9:12am

Just hours after a labor union reported what may be the first poultry worker deaths associated with the coronavirus in the U.S., Vice President Mike Pence urged American food workers to continue to “show up and do your job.”

“You are vital,” he said during a press conference late Tuesday. “You are giving a great service to the people of the United States of America and we need you to continue, as a part of what we call critical infrastructure, to show up and do your job.” In return, Pence said, the government will “work tirelessly” to ensure their workplaces are safe.

Pence’s remarks came just hours after the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union that represents thousands of poultry-processing workers across the southern U.S. reported that two members at a Tyson Foods Inc. facility in Georgia had died from the virus. It was unclear whether they were infected while at work. Tyson said the company has been taking temperatures, stepped up deep cleaning at its plants, implemented social distancing measures and given workers access to protective face coverings.

“Since the U.S. government considers Tyson Foods a critical infrastructure company, we take our responsibility to continue feeding the nation very seriously,” the Springdale, Arkansas-based company said by email, without commenting on the reported deaths.

Minutes after Pence spoke, another food giant, Cargill Inc., said it was idling a beef plant in Pennsylvania after employees tested positive for Covid-19, joining the ranks of food companies across the U.S. shutting or reducing operations as the outbreak sickens more of their ranks and begins to affect production. The slowdowns have fanned fears of potential food shortages just as supply chain disruptions are already keeping some basic goods such as beef, rice and pasta off grocery shelves.

On Monday, Tyson said it had halted pork processing at a plant in Iowa after more than two dozen workers tested positive. JBS SA, the world’s largest beef processor, suspended operations until April 16 at a beef plant in Pennsylvania after several managers showed symptoms. Other producers have faced everything from worker walkouts to hundreds of employees quarantined to people calling out of the job.

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