Congressman Cleaver Calls For Plan to Protect Workers in Meat Processing Plants

April 30, 2020
Press Release

(Kansas City, MO) – Following an Executive Order classifying meat processing plants as critical infrastructure that will force them to remain in operation, United States Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) has called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide a plan that ensures workers can safely operate in these facilities.

In a letter to Regional Administrator Paul Taylor, Cleaver wrote: "Maintaining our food supply chain is critical to the food security of all Americans and to the continued operation of our food producers. However, it cannot be at the expense of worker health and safety, and indeed the supply chains are not sustainable without healthy and safe workers."

Recently, Saline County has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases, with many connected to outbreaks in meat processing plants. While Kansas City and St. Louis have seen the highest number of total cases, Saline County now holds the highest per capita rates in the state at 788 cases per 100,000 residents—more than seven times the rate of infection in Kansas City (108 per 100,000), according to the New York Times. In Saline, both Conagra and Cargill maintain meat processing plants in Marshall, Missouri. Conagra has confirmed at least 42 of their 700 employees have tested positive for COVID-19, and Cargill has confirmed cases, but declined to cite the total number.

"These processing plants are extraordinarily susceptible to outbreaks of COVID-19 due to the confined spaces in which workers perform their duties," said Congressman Cleaver. "An outbreak in one of these plants can lead to spike in cases in our rural communities at-large, where populations tend to lean disproportionately toward individuals most vulnerable to complications from coronavirus."

"I understand these facilities are critical to the food supply chain, but the safety of workers must always come first. Forcing these facilities to remain open without sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) or protocols to ensure workers can maintain proper social distancing will put workers' lives and rural communities at risk, not to mention the very real possibility that the plants will be unable to function efficiently without healthy workers."

Congressman Cleaver is asking the Region 7 FEMA Administrator to answer questions such as:

  • What is the plan and timeline for distribution of PPE for employees at the plants in Region VII?
  • Will these supplies be provided by the states or by the federal government?
  • Will companies be required to retrofit plants and/or modify shifts and other practices in order to ensure CDC and OSHA recommended social distancing?
  • What enforcement mechanisms will be put in place to ensure these guidelines are adhered to at individual plants?
  • Will there be a hotline or other mechanism for employees to report violations?
  • Will increased testing be provided at these plants for symptomatic and asymptomatic employees?

You can find the official letter from Congressman Cleaver here.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy; member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress; member of the Committee on Homeland Security; and a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. For more information, please contact Matt Helfant at 202-590-0175 or Matthew.Helfant@mail.house.gov A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.