Latino contract workers in NC chicken plants face coronavirus health and job fears
Workers inside meat processing facilities are facing increasing health risks as the coronavirus strikes poultry plants in North Carolina — including Mountaire Farms in Siler City, where three cases were reported earlier this month and eight more on Wednesday.
At least one case has been reported at a Mountaire Farms plant in Robeson County and another at a Pilgrim’s Pride chicken plant in Sanford, according to letters sent to employees and posted on social media.
On Tuesday, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said outbreaks — defined as two or more positive cases — had been identified at five food processing facilities in Bladen, Chatham Duplin, Lee and Robeson counties. They did not identify the facilities. In a news release, department officials said that “local health departments are conducting outbreak investigations including contact tracing to determine who else may have been exposed.”
Though Mountaire Farms officials said they’ve responded with safety measures across its facilities, advocates are calling for those measures to be extended to temporary contract workers. Those workers, hired through outside employment companies, are mostly Latino immigrants and comprise many of the facility’s workers.
These contract workers say they’re even more at risk because they don’t have all the COVID-19 protections that have been granted to full-time plant employees — protections that would allow them to stay home if they’re sick, such as paid sick leave, relaxed attendance requirements and hazard pay.
The contract workers — who typically are paid less than full-time employees and are mostly working-class immigrants with no access to health insurance — bear a greater risk of getting sick, coming to work and potentially infecting others.
The Mountaire Farms plant in Siler City is one of the largest employers in Chatham County with 1,580 employees.
Mountaire Farms confirmed to WRAL on Wednesday that there are now 11 cases at the plant and nine others at a Robeson County plant.
Chatham County public health director Layton Long told The News & Observer that they confirmed cases at the facility, but would not give an updated number and directed The News & Observer to the poultry producer for other questions.
“To protect privacy, we are limited in details we can share about cases of COVID-19, including the number of cases by potentially identifying characteristics like employer, geography and health status,” said Long.
Mark Reif, a Mountaire Farms spokesman, did not respond to emails and phone calls from The News & Observer for comment on whether the reported cases are solely plant employees or contract workers, or if company is reporting cases of sick contract workers.
Mountaire Farms officials said on Facebook that infected employees are at home recovering. In their Facebook post, they laid out a list of mandatory safety measures put in place at their facilities in the state.
“Our teams have been ready for this and we don’t expect this to interrupt our operations,” the company statement said in an email to The News & Observer. “We have trained medical personnel at each of our facilities and we’re following all CDC guidelines and information from the Heath Department. We’ve been proactive in trying to protect our employees from COVID-19, and we’re grateful that our employees are still working together to help feed our community.”
According to the statement, these measures include mandatory temperature checks in processing facilities and corporate offices, mandatory face masks and face shields for employees, increased social distancing, more cleanings and installing plexiglass barriers “wherever possible.” Employment measures have included more paid leave, “relaxed” attendance policies and a pay raise for all hourly employees.
According to a Facebook post, the company began some of these measures the second week of April.
The company did not mention contract workers in the Facebook post.
Workers in fear
Some Mountaire Farms contract workers spoke to The News & Observer but did not want to be identified because they’re concerned about losing their jobs.
One worker who asked to go by “Zoila” said she received a mask and protective face shield on her last day of work on April 10 before she developed symptoms and went to a doctor.
She and other workers say they’re concerned about additional cases among their coworkers.
Zoila said she was unable to get a COVID-19 test, but has recovered at home. She’s avoided returning to work for over a week because two coworkers, also contract workers, have tested positive with COVID-19 and she’s heard rumors of more, she said.
“My husband is diabetic, my daughter is asthmatic and I truly don’t want to risk them at all and bring the disease home and have something happen to them because of me,” Zoila said in Spanish. “The doctor said I could already return to work, but I don’t want to.”
Contract workers, unlike the full-time plant employees, do not receive paid sick leave and can be fired after missing 10 days of work even if they’re sick, said Zoila and another contractor who spoke to The News & Observer.
In a text message shared with The News & Observer, a coworker whom Zoila said tested positive for coronavirus and is isolated at home describes her situation.
“I’m doing badly really, I don’t wish this on anyone because it distances you from the people you love the most,” reads part of the message. “It really is horrible because you feel so bad and the most sad part is that you can’t be near your children.”
Another contract worker who asked to go by “María” said she left work last week out of fear of catching the virus. Though she was given protective equipment, she was still working in close quarters with the rest of her department.
“I’m scared. I’m not going back to work,” María said. “I’m asking for a sign from God.”
She said she cannot risk being sick because her husband and daughter have high-risk health issues.
Community raises worries
“Unfortunately, I wish [safety measures] could have come a month ago,” Dubester of The Hispanic Liaison said in an interview with The News & Observer.
Dubester said she had feared for weeks that the virus would hit the poultry plant. She said she had asked various officials to start protective measures earlier. As the founder of the 25-year-old Latino advocacy nonprofit in Siler City, Dubester has worked with many poultry workers and their families in the area for years.
“I can’t say if it could have been prevented in a plant that has that many employees that work so closely together,” Dubester said.
“I feel [Mountaire Farms] have a lot of sway with the contractors that they use and could make this a policy that applies unconditionally to everybody who works at the plant.”
The News & Observer was unable to reach the subcontractor for comment.
Karina Neyra of Qué Pasa, a North Carolina Spanish-language news publication, contributed to this article.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 8:51 PM with the headline "Latino contract workers in NC chicken plants face coronavirus health and job fears."
