Federal Inspectors Are Fearful, Angry About Trump's Order to Reopen Outbreak-Stricken Meat Plants

[James48]

Source: Govexec.com

USDA is still not providing masks and is doing "absolutely nothing" to protect workers, inspectors say.

By Eric Katz

(Snip)
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, who has lobbied companies and local leaders to keep plants open even as hotspots developed, said the department would keep employees safe. He said USDA would work with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement guidelines for reopening plants.

“USDA will continue to work with its partners across the federal government to ensure employee safety to maintain this essential industry,” Perdue said.

Employees, however, said they have received no details on how the department will keep that promise. FSIS is still not providing personal protective equipment—including masks—to its inspectors, instead offering a one-time $50 stipend for employees to procure their own. On Wednesday, FSIS held telephonic town halls with employees, as it has done each week during the pandemic. For the first time, however, FSIS took no questions from employees, citing “inappropriate” leaks to the media and privacy concerns.

“We’re pretty angry about it,” one inspector said of the one-sided town hall he listened to. “They said they would answer the most frequently asked questions but they’re not doing that.”

Read more: https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2020/04/federal-inspectors-are-fearful-angry-about-trumps-order-reopen-outbreak-stricken-meat-plants/165051/

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King “”Dump” ordering Federal Employee meat inspectors to work with NO PROTECTION, and it’s illegal for federal workers to refuse to work or strike.

The USDA Management is offering employees ONE TIME $50 to go try and buy some kind of face mask to keep their own snot out of the meat?

USDA MGT doesn’t have a clue what protection is required- it’s just like doctors- if you are elbow to elbow with other workers in a slaughterhouse, a bandanna isn’t the protection you need, and a ONE TIME $50 to try and buy masks, faceshields, and gowns sufficient to protect yourself as a meat inspector?

Seriously?

Let them eat cake.

Shut the meat plants down until Federal Government protects their own employees!

[FirstLight]

1. dear lord

Im ok becoming partially vegan to keep these people safe.




I'd fucking strike and take the case to the supreme court...but that requires a financial cushion. And most of these folks dont have that luxury...


guh...

[not fooled]

2. Sure FSIS is not going to protect them

USDA saboteur perdue wants the inspectors to quit.

orange anus and his henchmen are trying to drive as many federal workers out of service as possible. To be replaced by screened red don bots if he gets in for a second term--he will destroy the federal civil service and turn it into a patronage system to be staffed only by republicans.

[Newest Reality]

3. +1

Much of what is coming out of this Administration and its appointees is looking like LIHOP, and that's got to have an ulterior motive that is both dangerous and ultimately destructive.

We need damage control fast.

[tulipsandroses]

4. $50 stipend to buy their own PPE? Really?

And where are they supposed to get it? Hospitals are having a hard time finding it and they usually have access to sources. Where does a worker at a meat plant find their own PPE?

These Republicans are really either showing how callous they are, or stupid they are.

[PSPS]

6. "And where are they supposed to get it?"

Why, from the company store (Jared's pirated stash), of course. And be the highest bidder.

[UpInArms]

5. More from your link ...

“This executive order does not deal with the basic safety issues for the inspectors or the plant workers,” Corbo said. “When it comes to their own employees, when it comes to the inspectors, there’s nothing that gives them any solace that they are being taken care of when walking into unsafe working conditions.”

The FSIS inspector said agency employees care enough about their jobs to continue doing them, but people are nervous.

“People are still pretty scared about it,” the employee said, adding Trump’s order could embolden companies to act without employees’ best interests at heart. “Now companies will not be held accountable for how safe and how unsafe they are being.”

“Care about their jobs” is a euphemism for “cannot afford to be fired”

[captain queeg]

7. So those who are supposed to keep the food supply safe

Are supposed to help make sure food workers can become sick. There is some twisted logic the RW is spinning.

I guess MAGA means take us back to the early 1900s and The Jungle.

[James48]

9. Nope

You can’t sue the federal government unless the federal government says it is ok to sue.

[James48]

12. Basically, yes. Always.

It’s the doctrine of Sovereign Immunity.

See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_immunity_in_the_United_States#Federal_sovereign_immunity

[duforsure]

10. People will realize they don't run a safe plant ,

With trump giving them protections from unsafe policies concerning our food supply, and will refuse to buy any of their products again. trump is promoting unsafe policies with our food industry, so everything he tries to do , I 'm against it , and the companies he's protecting now . Will not buy their products , period. The consumers have the power to reject them doing this unsafely to us by trump.

[lark]

15. Yep, no buying Smithfield or Tyson products.

There are other options which we will be using going forward. Also trying to convince hubby that we can live with meat only 1 day per week - he disagrees, so far, but still working on this. He is in total agreement to not buy products from these meat giants, so that is set in stone for now. Hope they get bigly boycotted.

[Sunlei]

13. all the sick slave workers coughing on the meats means not a good idea to eat suchi

[lark]

14. Workers just don't go.

Take the co. to court for ordering you to work in conditions that are killing people, they will lose unless it's a drumpf fascist judge in charge.