Cargill reduces production at Fort Morgan due to coronavirus

SEVEN CASES AND ONE DEATH CONFIRMED

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado Newspaper

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Cargill has reduced operations at its meat processing plant in Fort Morgan. Since the afternoon of Monday, April 13, only one production shift is being employed. “As we continue to prioritize the health and safety of Cargill employees, we have decided to temporarily idle our 2nd shift operation at our Fort Morgan protein plant. This will allow us to minimize the impact of COVID-19 and continue to follow health department guidelines,” said Jon Nash, President of Cargill Protein-North America in a press release addressed to El Comercio de Colorado.

In this statement, Nash makes clear the direction the company is taking to guarantee the health of its workers and to minimize the impact on communities in Northeast Colorado. “We implemented additional safety measures like temperature testing, enhanced cleaning and sanitizing, prohibiting visitors, adopting social distancing practices where possible and offering staggered breaks and shift flexibility,” said the president of Cargill.

Without closing

Nash assures that the company is doing fine even under these new conditions. “Every person affected is a valued member of our team. Our employees are working hard to keep food on tables in local communities. While this location is working at reduced capacity and we adapt to operating during a pandemic, our work doesn’t stop. Our facility will be back to operating at full capacity as soon as is it safe to do so,” said the senior executive.

The closure of JBS’s Greeley plant is another story, however. This other location, also in northern Colorado, will be closed until April 24. During that time, the JBS plant will go through a very thorough cleaning process. As JBS USA announced, “Instead of doing health screenings on our team members, the company has decided to take more direct action and order the quarantine of its Greeley employees until the plant is reopened.”

Cases confirmed

In a separate interview, Daniel Sullivan, director of the Cargill Media Department, confirms the presence of coronavirus cases among his workers. However, due to legal reasons, Sullivan was unable to report the number of cases. He added that, “the employees are receiving appropriate medical care. It’s important to note, for any employee who tested positively, we responded immediately by following the proper quarantine for the impacted employee and those who’d been in contact with him / her.”

On top of this he adds, “since the onset of COVID, we have put strict measures in place to screen employees, including temperature checks, creating adequate work and break space to accommodate social distancing. Given the nature of this virus and how it’s one that is community-spread, we have also communicated to our employees the importance of social distancing outside of work as well.”

The numbers

Steve Vairma, director of the union Teamster Local 455, stated that there are seven Cargill workers infected with COVID-19. As Vairma reported to El Comercio de Colorado, five of those infected are workers, while the other two hold administrative positions. Vairma confirms that one worker at the Cargill plant infected with the virus has died. This union leader added that around 150 workers at the plant in Fort Morgan are currently under quarantine.

Vairma indicated that the union that he represents has been in contact with Cargill executives. Vairma explains that Cargill is taking precautions to prevent the spread and that they have made efforts to supply masks to workers on the production line. He also specified that the Cargill quarantined workers will still receive their wages as usual. Meanwhile, those workers who will not be working due to the reduction in production will receive a guaranteed contract payment equivalent to 32 working days.