April 11, 2023

 

Tyson Foods workers strike at Arkansas state chicken plant

 

About 150 workers of major US meatpacker Tyson Foods chicken plant in Arkansas went on strike for better treatment before the company closes the facility on May 12, Yahoo! News reported.

 

The Van Buren, Arkansas plant closure will result in 969 non-union workers losing their jobs. The company said it is closing the plant as it seeks to improve performance in its chicken business.

 

Magaly Licolli, director of Venceremos, an organisation that represents poultry workers in Arkansas, said employees refused to come to work because Tyson Foods said they wouldn't get paid in full for accrued vacation time.

 

Tyson Foods said they have a policy in place to fully compensate workers who had unused vacation or holiday time. Additionally, the company announced that it would pay a US$1,000 bonus to employees who stayed on until the plant closed.

 

Following Tyson Foods' announcement that the plant would close, some employees left, leaving fewer workers with more work, Licolli said.

 

She said that workers who have previously experienced workplace injuries are worried that it will be difficult for them to find other employment.

 

The company has offered to transfer workers from the Arkansas plant to another facility in Texas with compensation for moving, but Licolli said many of the plant workers do not want to uproot their lives or their families.

 

Tyson stated in an email that it is providing relocation assistance to employees who wish to work at additional facilities in Arkansas.

 

The company has also faced opposition to its plan to close a chicken plant in Glen Allen, Virginia, which employs 692 people. The company said that it will divert demand from the plants it is closing to other facilities.

 

Tyson said last month that the closures were a part of a plan to operate its remaining plants at full capacity.

 

-      Yahoo! News