Union leader hopes JBS learned from first outbreak

As JBS officials work to respond to a second outbreak at the Greeley beef plant, Kim Cordova hopes they remember lessons learned from the first outbreak, which killed six workers and infected 292 employees by the time it was considered resolved by the state.

As many as 20 workers have been infected in the second round, which began Nov. 17, according to the state. A JBS spokeswoman said the number of active cases was down to 12 by Thursday afternoon.

Cordova, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, said she expects to see case numbers at the plant rise due to the inherent challenges in preventing the virus from spreading on a production line, as well as specific issues at the beef plant in Greeley. She also expressed concerns about Weld County leadership ignoring health enforcement recommendations from the state.

“It’s so hard to social distance within those facilities,” she said. “It’s not hard for that to spread across the plant.”

The company has introduced a number of safety interventions since the first outbreak, including placing dividers between workers and recently putting the most at- risk workers on paid leave.

But Cordova said a number of issues remain, most notably a bonus tied to workers’ attendance. For the plant’s reopening, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health specifically recommended against financial incentives for attendance, according to Cordova.

Nikki Richardson, a JBS spokeswoman, said Thursday

company officials believe the vast majority of cases are coming into the plant population from outside the plant and are not being spread inside the plant. Cordova said she has requested information about where the impacted employees work in the plant.

JBS on Friday announced it would cover 100% of costs associated with COVID- 19 diagnosis and treatment.

Distancing remains impossible at many areas in the plant, Cordova said, fueling expectations the outbreak will continue to grow. JBS isn’t alone in facing challenges due to the pandemic, Cordova said. The way meatpacking operations are structured, it’s almost impossible to distance workers if the line speed isn’t reduced and workers aren’t separated on the production line.

“It went really fast last time. It was a matter of weeks before those numbers turned from five to 10 workers to hundreds of workers that got it,” she said.