some of these facilities have infection rates of 60% in their facilities. Any idea why this would be the case? Is it too close working space? I think I read a number of approximately 60,000 cases in these facilities nationwide.
meat/chicken packing plants?
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Last: 5 yr ago by ham98
Common areas (think break rooms) are the main problem. Those guys are suited up like a doctor when they are on the line.
Lots of factors there.
Close working conditions, communal lunch/break space, and in the case of at least one plant a lack of well communicated safety procedures among international workers. One story cited that the first plant that made the news had something like 15 different languages spoken on the floor but only had their COVID specific signage posted in English.
Close working conditions, communal lunch/break space, and in the case of at least one plant a lack of well communicated safety procedures among international workers. One story cited that the first plant that made the news had something like 15 different languages spoken on the floor but only had their COVID specific signage posted in English.
that's what I was thinking....making it all the more strange.Quote:
Those guys are suited up like a doctor when they are on the line.
And the workers not taking this seriously and still having large parties on the weekend. I have a vendor who spoke with several of the operation managers in Nebraska and they have a lot of problems with what their workers are doing outside of work
One theory I've seen points more to what the workers do outside of work than what they do at the plant.
There is a lot of socializing and high density living arrangements.
There is a lot of socializing and high density living arrangements.
No they aren't. They are elbow to elbow.Quote:
Common areas (think break rooms) are the main problem. Those guys are suited up like a doctor when they are on the line.
Don't think this is true. The real outbreak issue is in the packing area, not the slaughter area.gigemhilo said:
Common areas (think break rooms) are the main problem. Those guys are suited up like a doctor when they are on the line.
I think the biggest issue is living arrangements, not the working environment. Most of the workers are immigrants and likely lives in homes with many other people. Big cities or small towns, doesn't matter. High density living situations will cause the virus to spread like crazy.
Here is the great news. In about two weeks everyone will have antibodies and they will have their own natural herd immunity. Also, they should be hiring outsiders based on their antibody test - 50% pay raise for anyone that wants to come work and has antibodies.
Everyone spending time on what to do to keep someone from catching it again is idiotic. Be thankful they are already getting over it and will be back to full capacity soon.
Everyone spending time on what to do to keep someone from catching it again is idiotic. Be thankful they are already getting over it and will be back to full capacity soon.
Once someone reaches a total number of flagged posts across multiple threads, do they automatically get a ban or no? Doesn't look like it.
I just listened to a NY Times Daily podcast that did a really good job talking about the issue. Interviewed a worker who ended up getting sick. Shows the economic toll this takes on people as well as the virus. Smithfield kept paying the lady 40 hours a week for the time she missed with coronavirus, but she was distraught that she couldn't go out and earn the overtime she requires to support her family home and abroad (Sudan).
I know the NYT is a liberal biased rag, especially their editorial section, but they do some really good investigating true reporting and their podcast is 80% great material.
I know the NYT is a liberal biased rag, especially their editorial section, but they do some really good investigating true reporting and their podcast is 80% great material.
Drifter. said:
Once someone reaches a total number of flagged posts across multiple threads, do they automatically get a ban or no? Doesn't look like it.
Did some posts get deleted? There does t seem to be a post on here that should trigger a flag.
MasterAggie said:No they aren't. They are elbow to elbow.Quote:
Common areas (think break rooms) are the main problem. Those guys are suited up like a doctor when they are on the line.
I drive by a chicken processing plant every day - I see what they wear.
Then you know they aren't "suited up like a dr".
Not sure if you are taking me literally or not, but ok.MasterAggie said:
Then you know they aren't "suited up like a dr".
They wear the following:
Rubber Boots
Cover-alls
Plastic aprons/bibs that cover their arms and torso down to their knees
gloves
helmets
fishnets for hair
face masks
Shield masks
Did I miss anything?
So yes, they dont wear lab coats and scrubs, but its essentially the same thing as far as protections.
Lots of poor people living in tight quarters in Abilene.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
I will say again, pay that job whatever is fair for the risk they are taking, and I will pay that for the meat I eat. It's a much better and more fair alternative to empty shelves and people out of work or forcing them to risk their lives for 23k a year.
Less about working conditions, more about living conditions.ttuhscaggie said:
Lots of poor people living in tight quarters in Abilene.
What is the temperature in these facilities? Other respiratory viruses spread better in cooler and drier conditions.
A beef or pork plant is divided into two sections...a slaughter area and a fabrication area. The slaughter area is ambient temperature, as the residual heat in the carcass keeps temperatures elevated.
The fabrication side is a different story. I've been in fab rooms that were as low as 30 degrees.
All this said, it's been years since I've been in a packing plant so my perspective may be outdated.
The fabrication side is a different story. I've been in fab rooms that were as low as 30 degrees.
All this said, it's been years since I've been in a packing plant so my perspective may be outdated.
The workers all cram into houses and apartments together to split the rent as much as possible and some plants bus their workers to and from work everyday on private buses so they are always in extremely close quarters.
Seems like you should pay them the market rate. And when you shut the economy down for this bullcrap market rate will go down as people are desperate.
This problem can be remedied by passage of The PRIME Act which would allow for a higher number of smaller meat processing plants in more locales. This has been introduced in prior years only to be defeated by a strong lobby supported by the multi-national corporations that currently own the (4) companies that process all meat in the US.
https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/what-is-the-prime-act/
(Note: The link I included was from a Carolina association which is why it only references those states and it is also references the introduction of this bill from prior years however this has been re-introduced several times).
https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/what-is-the-prime-act/
The last paragraph requiring that if a farmer wants to sell to individual consumer, restaurant, hotel or grocery store, the animal must be processed at one of the large facilities. This is why you hear about farmers euthanizing large portions of animals. They can't sell them because they can only sell to large processers that are closed or have diminished capacities.Quote:
The PRIME Act seeks to be a partial response to the loss of thousands of processing facilities across the country over the past 20 years. Consolidation within the meat industry has left many farmers who raise meat outside of the multi-national, vertically integrated corporate model with few if any options for processing their meat locally.
Currently, custom facilities across the country are exempt from state and federal inspection regulations to process meat for personal consumption. So, you can bring your own hog or cow to the nearest custom-exempt establishment, and bring the meat home for dinner. In NC, those facilities can process AND slaughter that meat for personal consumption, while in SC, slaughtered meat can be brought to those facilities for processing for personal consumption. However, when a farmer wants to actually sell meat to any buyer individual consumer, restaurant, hotel, or grocery store the animal must be slaughtered and processed at a USDA-inspected or NC or SC state-inspected facilities to legally sell the meat.
(Note: The link I included was from a Carolina association which is why it only references those states and it is also references the introduction of this bill from prior years however this has been re-introduced several times).
Has anyone seen a hospitalization rate for those infected in this industry? These are huge numbers of infected, it would seem statistically that there would be a % of those who had to be hospitalized.
Just wait until schools open back up. Millions of kids that don't give a **** about anyone but themselves in overcrowded classrooms, jam packed hallways and many employees over 50. In my school, I don't think there's a single janitor, bus driver or cafeteria worker that isn't old. I also imagine subs are going to be hard to find because nobody is going to take that job for 70 bucks a day. It'll be interesting to see if schools make it past October.
Bruce Almighty said:
Just wait until schools open back up. Millions of kids that don't give a **** about anyone but themselves in overcrowded classrooms, jam packed hallways and many employees over 50. In my school, I don't think there's a single janitor, bus driver or cafeteria worker that isn't old. I also imagine subs are going to be hard to find because nobody is going to take that job for 70 bucks a day. It'll be interesting to see if schools make it past October.
So what is your solution? You think we should keep schools closed indefinitely? Let students get further and further behind? Keep everyone locked in their homes forever? Don't worry about all of the out of work people? Don't worry about the economy? This virus is way overblown but by all means let's keep our country closed down.
My grandparents ran a small family-owned packing plant in Louisiana up until the early 80s. They finally closed after being squeezed out by the conglomerates, but they lasted longer than most. They were USDA inspected and sold to schools, restaurants, individuals, etc. We also came home from every visit with cases of T-bones and ribeyes!
Would be nice to have options like that back these days!
Would be nice to have options like that back these days!
Jbob04 said:Bruce Almighty said:
Just wait until schools open back up. Millions of kids that don't give a **** about anyone but themselves in overcrowded classrooms, jam packed hallways and many employees over 50. In my school, I don't think there's a single janitor, bus driver or cafeteria worker that isn't old. I also imagine subs are going to be hard to find because nobody is going to take that job for 70 bucks a day. It'll be interesting to see if schools make it past October.
So what is your solution? You think we should keep schools closed indefinitely? Let students get further and further behind? Keep everyone locked in their homes forever? Don't worry about all of the out of work people? Don't worry about the economy? This virus is way overblown but by all means let's keep our country closed down.
I'm not saying that they should remained closed, just interesting to see what will happen as I think many will suffer very similar fates to the meat packing plants.
What do the Wolverines have to do with anything?
I don't think PPE matters much unless you have SCBA. I think the main transmission is breathing air in the same building as infected people.
The aerosolized transmission zone has been estimated to be around 4 m but this number is based off assumptions for minimal infectious concentration which is still unknown.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
Il tell you this,
I have a relative sitting on a significant investment of cattle right now. Well into the hundreds. RIght now he cannot give them away, yet fast food chains were running out of meat this week.
And you can't just put cows out to pasture. They cost a lot of money to keep alive when they are this age and this many.
I have a relative sitting on a significant investment of cattle right now. Well into the hundreds. RIght now he cannot give them away, yet fast food chains were running out of meat this week.
And you can't just put cows out to pasture. They cost a lot of money to keep alive when they are this age and this many.
I don’t say this in a braggedocious way. But it’s true. I’ve been right about everything.
-Donald J Trump
-9/22/2025
-Donald J Trump
-9/22/2025
Has he looked into selling them to Mexican meat processors?agsalaska said:
Il tell you this,
I have a relative sitting on a significant investment of cattle right now. Well into the hundreds. RIght now he cannot give them away, yet fast food chains were running out of meat this week.
And you can't just put cows out to pasture. They cost a lot of money to keep alive when they are this age and this many.
Dont know. If he hasn't I bet he does soon.
I don’t say this in a braggedocious way. But it’s true. I’ve been right about everything.
-Donald J Trump
-9/22/2025
-Donald J Trump
-9/22/2025
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