SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - The union that had threatened to strike at a Smithfield pork processing plant in South Dakota says it has reached a tentative.
Pork processing workers reject deal, threaten strike
STEPHEN GROVES | Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In a sign of meatpacking workers becoming emboldened by the pandemic s health threats and economic repercussions, the union at a South Dakota pork processing plant that experienced a bad novel coronavirus outbreak last year has overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer from Smithfield Foods and will move to bring the prospect of a strike to the negotiating table.
The Sioux Falls chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union said 99% of union members who voted on the contract offered from Virginia-based Smithfield Foods rejected it.
(Azael Rodriguez
Getty Images)
Papa Cantella s was founded in 1980 and, like Farmer John, is headquartered in Vernon. The company produces more than 150 formulas of sausages and hot dogs, specialty meats, prepared entrees and side dishes, according to its website.
In February of this year, NBC4 reported that at least 779 workers at Farmer John s had tested positive for COVID-19. Cal/OSHA had, in late 2020, already fined the company more than $58,000 for safety violations that led to the coronavirus outbreak, which may have started as early as February 2020, reports
Mother Jones. Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, Farmer John s parent company, said it would aggressively contest the penalties.
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