MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — 52 employees at a JBS meatpacking facility in central Iowa have tested positive for COVID-19, though the rest of the crew didn't find out through their boss: instead, they heard it on the news.
"We don't hear directly from JBS and that's the thing, they need to work better by communicating with the union and with the employees because we deserve to know," said Margarita Heredia, who has worked at the plant for several years. She is an immigrant from Mexico. She said she heard about the positive cases from a news report earlier in the week. "We don't learn those numbers from JBS. We hear from somebody else. We watch the news all of the time and we are trying to keep informed by reading newspapers and watching the news."
Heredia said though she feels safe coming to work because of the protective measures JBS has put in place, such as requiring face masks and shields to be worn by workers, she still worries about what could happen.
"I know for a fact I'm not the only one who feels anxiety or depression," said Heredia. "We talk to a lot of people every day, we share those feelings every day. And they tell us that they haven't ever experienced this anxiety before. A lot of people are coming to work in fear because they don't know when they're going to take the virus to their families."
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About 2,400 people work at the pork packing plant in Marshalltown. JBS would not disclose to Local 5 how many of its employees have been tested. Heredia said that the company is not providing on-site testing; employees have to take it upon themselves to go to a clinic and get tested. And she said that even when packing plant workers show up at a local hospital or a clinic, asking for a test, many of them are turned away.
"Even though we are essential workers, I don't think they're taking us as important as doctors and nurses," said Heredia. "And you know, the reality is that we should be treated equally because we are essential workers and we are risking our lives going to work as well."
Gov. Kim Reynolds has urged packing facilities to protect workers while still maintaining operations to keep America's food supply chain safe. She has not ordered any packing plants to shut down. On Wednesday, the Tyson facility in Waterloo indefinitely suspended its operations because so many workers came down with the virus.
Heredia said that she's torn between wanting the plant to stay open and feeding families and keeping workers safe. She said that for many JBS employees, the paycheck is all they have. Meanwhile, Gov. Reynolds has urged Iowans at her daily press briefings that if they're sick, they need to stay home. Heredia said sometimes, that's not an option for packing plant workers.
"We have only one person working in a family, so probably that's not possible," said Heredia. "And the money that a lot of people are getting from the government is not enough to pay the bills. So, unfortunately, we are seeing people come to work sick."