PLAINWELL, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Animal rights activists are planning to protest an Allegan County meatpacking plant where dozens of employees tested positive for COVID-19.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA, announced in a news release that local members will be gathering outside the JBS meatpacking plant on Monday to protest industry practices.
Allegan County health officials have identified the Plainwell facility on 11th Street as a COVID-19 “hotspot” in the local community, with at least 60 employees testing positive and one death from the illness.
The meat processing and packaging plant employs 1,300 workers, many of whom live outside of Allegan County.
“Filthy, wet, blood- and offal-soaked slaughterhouses are breeding grounds for deadly diseases that can jump from animals to humans—and they’re the least safe workplaces in the world,” said PETA President Ingrid Newkirk in a released statement to media outlets.
PETA is known for its advocacy of veganism and strict opposition against practices used in the agriculture industry like hormone use and factory farming.
Allegan Public Information Officer Lindsay Maunz says the plant has been compliant with health guidelines, including cleaning frequently touched surfaces, providing hand sanitizer stations throughout the workplace, as well as mandated screening and temperature checks for employees before their shift.
County health officials have visited the plant to review personal hygiene and safety practices, with the company being cooperative in implementing additional precautions.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 951 represents workers at the plant, many of whom voiced concerns last month over the growing number of cases.
Union leaders negotiated a temporary $4 per hour raise for workers in effect from April 20th through May 30th, in addition to a $600 bonus announced in March for the essential workers. The agreement between JBS and the union also includes installing dividers at workstations, increased access to face shields, and staggered shifts to reduce exposure.
Three JBS facilities have been closed in Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota, with another cluster involving 147 cases has been detected at a packing plant in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Farmworkers and all employees that engage in the food supply chain are considered essential during the stay-at-home executive order, considered vital to providing food access and maintaining public health during the COVID-19 outbreak.
