The absurdities of this administration never end.
Please consider
Trump Takes Executive Action to Keep Meat-Processing Plants Open.
President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday paving the way for meat-processing plants remain open during the coronavirus pandemic, as hundreds of workers have fallen ill and concerns mount about food-supply shortages.
The president invoked the Defense Production Act, a Korean War-era law, to keep the facilities open, designating the plants as critical infrastructure under the law.The move is expected to relieve pressure on meatpackers and farmers, who have struggled with food-supply upheavals following pressure from local and state officials to close plants. It is likely to draw fire from unions and worker advocates, who have said such closures are a necessary step to stem the virus’s spread through communities.
More than a dozen major meatpacking plants in recent weeks have closed down following outbreaks among employees, and other workers choosing to stay home rather than risk infection.
Four Questions
- OK, Trump can force the plants to stay “open”, but open for what?
- Can Trump send in qualified workers to run the plants?
- Can Trump force the existing workers to show up?
- If not, will Trump show up himself and do the work?
Stuart Appelbaum president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, made this comment: “We only wish that this administration cared as much about the lives of working people as it does about meat, pork and poultry products.”
“Everybody is in fear of their lives here,” said Lakesha Bailey, a Tyson worker. She has been calling in absent since April 19.
Two Bonus Questions
- Rather than thumping his chest and making demands on workers, wouldn’t a softer approach been better?
- How many workers will this piss off enough to cause them to vote Democratic?
Food Rotting in the Fields But Shortages in the Stores
For further discussion, please see Food Rotting in the Fields But Shortages in the Stores.
Mish
In case you prefer good comment behavior, you can click on the triple dot and select “Flag this as abuse”. Now, I wonder what that flag does to the comment.
Ah. It appears a little triangle appears in the northeast corner of the comment. On your view. Others won’t see the triangle.
You forgot one option.
The workers are getting sick and dying for crap wages. Covidiot!
I don’t think that option was ‘forgotten’. I think it only existed in your fever dreams.
According to Reason magazine, Trump’s move does not force plants to re-open; it requires them to put federal contracts at highest priority.
I like the phase “well enough to work” used by Wild Bull for people in a food plant. This excludes people leaking blood with ebola or pus from open sores. Everyone else–get to work! If you can stand, get to work!
I’m sorry that you slept during health class.
And look out for sex partners that are “well enough for sex” too. There is a long history of unfortunate choices in that matter, too…
Sweden has it right. Restrict enough to keep the hospitals from being overrun and git er done.
True and Sweden has always had better hygeine. Their customs are different. We go to work coughing with snot running out of our noses. They stay home or keep their kids home. We can’t any more idiots among other peeps with no mask on otherwise opening up will really stack some dead bodies.
I am also wondering if there are hereditary differences. The death rate seems lower in Scandinavian countries, such as Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands.
In fact, the only countries with population density comparable to Sweden, but still slightly less, are Norway, Finland, Iceland and yet the death rate in Sweden leads those Scandinavian countries by a wide margin.
In addition, Sweden’s death rate is 10th in all of Europe despite having a far lower population density than all of the rest of Europe except those Scandinavian countries mentioned previously … Sweden’s death rate is 7th in all of Europe if tiny San Marino, Andorra, Isle of Man, all with far greater population density than Sweden, are excluded.
Math is hard. Covidiot!
“We only wish that this administration cared as much about the lives of working people as it does about meat, pork and poultry products.”
Working people need to eat.
That’s why the grocery stores are still open.
Indeed. And have you heard much about grocery store workers dying? No because we know that the Wuhan virus affects old people with comorbidities and very very few young people also with comorbidities. If you are in that group and work for a meat packing plant, quit. Simple as that.
This is not about people dying, it is about liability. The plants want liability protection and they and every other business should get it. Why? Because this is impossible to stop. We MUST open or face economic destruction and food riots. If you are a person who needs to shelter-in-place, than do so. The other 99.8 percent of us can get back to life.
So the 33,000,000 Americans over the age of 70 get to shelter in place?
Maybe the 133,000,000 Americans with an existing chronic disease should shelter in place?
Both groups are slightly more than .2%
Covidiot
Given the restrictions we are living under, keeping the packing plants open is only prudent. Lack of TP is annoying, but let the hoarders clear the supermarkets of food, and there will be chaos.
Further, the MSM lies. When the worker that was ill with C19 tested positive, 200 others tested positive also. Apparently, all of them were well enough to work. Testing positive does not mean being ill, yet, we are given to believe that getting it is a death sentence. We are being subjected to a disinformation campaign that would make Josef Goebbels proud.
If you are under 60 with no co-morbidity, your risk of death is very small. Don’t let that secret out to the general public. The Sheeple might get restless.
Wild Covidiot!
Damned if you do damned if you don’t.
Hey, all you trumptards here….
Get ready for European SOCIALISM!
Why is it happening over there across the pond?
Because it works!
You exclusive red neck haters!
Inclusiveness is where it’s at!
Get with it or we’ll have a guillotine with your name on it.
I have spoken.
Spoken like a true Socialist. Obey or Die!
You are in good company. Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Tito, Pol Pot… and the list goes on.
Bring out the guillotine! No atrocity is too great if it serves the greater good of Socialism! Heil Marx!
“I have spoken.”
Um…
Coherently?
Wake me up when the wheat, corn and rice supply is disrupted…
Yawning…….
Red neck sister effers can’t live without their meats…
Live in a third world Nancy pants.
Big bowl of grains and if the universe is smiling on you, maybe a dinky piece of protein too.
Suck it up you sissy fied posers
🤡
Here’s your wake up call.
Rabobank: The Next Phase Of The Crisis – Food Shortages In Staples Such As Rice, Sugar, Corn And Eggs
Panic time, just like when Nixon closed the gold window. Remember wage and price controls? It didn’t work either.
I have noticed for some time now that no matter what Trump does, either way, his opponents will say it is the wrong thing, and Mish will also. Maybe Mish could overcome his TDS for a minute and write about something like this:
Trump has done a few things right, out of random chance, and Mish has defended him in the past. What do you think he’s done right?
How many times have I written about Illinois?
Sheeesh!
Mish has written about the fucked up Illinois government prob hundreds of times…why do you think he moved the hell out?
Actually Mish is finally just moving now. I left The State Where the Governors Make the License Plates 15 years ago and I like reading about the problems there. Mish has not written about that in a while but the story is still active, especially now that they ask Trump to bail them out (Good Luck with that!). Just my opinion but a much more interesting story than Orange Man Bad for Trying to Save American’s Meat Supply.
Dump the Trump
If there are inordinate numbers of people with C19 in meat packing plants, what does that say about the safety of the product? On the other hand, food packing plants should be geared up for this sort of thing already, what with salmonella and such.
On the other, other hand, that Trump says what he says could be to nudge Joe Public into saying, “Oh, I guess I don’t need to hoard meat, because the cops will make sure there’s plenty to go around.” Of course, that strategy relies on the media reacting with “Trump is Hitler” and/or “Trump is an idiot! There is plenty of meat, see?” Rather than going with a “Oh my God, Trump knows the score. Stock up on meat. Now!” reaction.
One thing you can say about C19: It’s great theater.
Zero worry about the food supply form C19… it dies at way lower temps than most bacteria or a little time in the microwave. Most food borne illness these days is from fruit and veggies not meat.
well said and I’ll add would prob be a good idea to stay away from sushi…sashimi etc…
Virus stays viable in freezer and requires a temperature above 160 to kill
Low – Food, Outdoor activity
Mid – Shopping in a store, indoor activities
High – Prolong contact, Health care workers, or LTC centers
Just remember, it’s OK with Trump if you die as long as he looks good. Never forget that.
What could possibly go wrong? I guess we’re gonna see. Maybe nothing, maybe mass death. The die is cast!
“If not, will Trump show up himself and do the work?”
ROFL. He just might.
At the end though, what can he do if no one shows up? Send in the National Guards?
They can either:
There’s is going to be a sequel to Sinclair’s The Jungle.
Sounds like Alice’s Restaurant and the draft…nothing wrong with vegetable rights and peas either
Certainly starvation isn’t a better option, and it is also true that the farmers wouldn’t have been happy to have had to slaughter and bury their animals for lack of packing plants. I’m not sure there really is a good solution, unfortunately. Hopefully they can continue to find new ways to improve worker safety, while also assuring a supply of food.
Perhaps Trump could assign the Army Corps of Engineers to try to engineer some new designs to make the plants safer?
Meat packing plants are safe. But no business is ready for the hysterical “we’re all going to die” fools if we let them run the show.
Meat packing, and other food processing plants, and cold storage facilities are places where Covid19 spreads very, very fast, as fast as it will spread with colder weather next winter. They need to make improvements in the plants to reduce the risk, but closing them and risking food shortages is not a good idea.