Uproar Among Workers Supplying the World’s Meat Is Spreading

  • Layout of plants makes social distancing ‘a challenge’
  • Companies mull relief pool of workers to keep factories going
Pig carcasses hang from an overhead conveyor at a pork processing facility in Milan, Missouri.Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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A growing number of workers who are crucial to supplying the world with meat are demanding that their companies do more to keep them safe from the coronavirus.

Labor unions are starting to speak out as their members fall ill, there are reports of increased absenteeismBloomberg Terminal and some front line workers have even walked off the job. That’s raising the specter of mass protests that could threaten global meat supplies just as supply chains unravel and grocery stores struggle to keep food on their shelves.