SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The national president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union that represents Smithfield workers in Sioux Falls is critical of Gov. Kristi Noem’s comments about how the workforce got the coronavirus. The Governor said 99 percent of the virus spread was not inside the plant.
Marc Perrone thinks the comment blames the large immigrant and refugee communities that work at the plant for getting sick instead of the conditions inside the plant.
But Gov. Kristi Noem’s office takes issue with some of the statements made by union officials and one of Smithfield’s furloughed workers during a Zoom teleconference held last week.
Perrone, other United Food and Commercial worker leaders, and workers from packing plants around the country spoke to reporters via the teleconference that was open to reporters from around the United States.
Achut Deng (pronounced Ah-chute Dung) is a mother of three children who has worked at the Smithfield Food pork packing plant in Sioux Falls for six years. She has recently recovered from the coronavirus. One of three of her children also contracted the virus.
She was one of five packing plant employees who are also members of the UFCW from around the country who talked about their working conditions, their employers, their health, and what they would like to see governments, plant owners, and the union do to help get them back to work safely.
“I work with Smithville as a lead person, also as a (union) steward. Pretty much when this started, before this started, we all knew about it, back, I would say back in January,” she said.
“I heard from my union and so did others and then the company afterward again. Did we take it too serious? I didn’t. And so with most of my coworkers. The union did give us awareness of washing hands and to try to keep such a distance thing. It was too hard to do that because at our, at my workplace, people are working shoulder to shoulder.”
Meanwhile, Perrone is concerned about not having the protective equipment necessary to protect each worker.
During the Zoom teleconference, Deng said, “And then there are people out there that we are to blame, the refugee in a way, Kristi Noem said that 99% (of the people who got COIVD-19 at Smithfield) came from people’s backgrounds–refugees and immigrants. To me is it’s ridiculous in a way, because I got it as a single mom, live at home with my kids, with my three kids that have nothing to do with being immigrants.”
Maggie Seidel, Gov. Noem’s senior advisor and policy director who also handles some media outreach, offered the following rebuttal to what the union officials and Smithfield worker Achut Deng said in the teleconference.
“The 99% stat is taken totally out of context,” said Seidel. “The plant was closed when she (Deng) made that point. There has always been concern about spread taking place outside the plant, but the 99% stat specifically refers to a time period after it was closed.”
Perrone also urges Smithfield workers in Sioux Falls to not participate in the state’s trial of hydroxychloroquine. “We are very, very concerned about it and we strongly recommend that our members do not take part in that study,” Perrone said. He says the studies he’s seen show it has a higher death rate than those who did not take the drug.
President Donald Trump and Gov. Kristi Noem believe the anti-malarial drug could be a cure for the coronavirus.
Seidel responded, “The hydroxy – it’s voluntary. If folks want to go that route, the Governor has done all she can to make it available. It’s up to individuals and their doctors to assess whether it makes sense for them.”
The UFCW represents about 80% of the nation’s workers at beef and pork packing plants, 33% of chicken processing employees, and about 40% of food processors. The union boss says like the packing companies, he wants the plant to open as soon as possible–safely. He says he understands the impact the closures have on the nation’s food supply, on producers, consumers, the packing companies, and the workers.
Seidel said, “Our team has been in communication with the local union, Smithfield employees, and Smithfield leadership – we always welcome dialogue. Our number one priority is getting this cluster under control and safeguarding the health of this workforce.
“The team at the Department of Health will continue to work with Smithfield and offer any assistance we can to help them implement these CDC recommendations, so they can safely reopen this plant as soon as possible.”
