Smithfield and UFCW logos.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Friday afternoon, officials with the union that represents workers at the Smithfield pork packing plant in Sioux Falls complained of working conditions.
They say Smithfield is speeding up the processing line, verbally abusing their employees, neglecting social distancing, and taking away sanitation measures.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 304A officials also say workers are required to come in weekends, even if their department is not scheduled, so they can be outsourced to other areas.
The union says record numbers of employees are quitting.
About 3,500 people are employed at the Smithfield plant.
KELO.com News has asked Smithfield Foods for a statement about the union’s accusations.
Below is the union’s news release.
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SIOUX FALLS, SD — Today, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 304A, which represents nearly 3,500 South Dakota frontline food workers, announced publicly it’s outrage as things get heated between the Union and the Company. Believing strongly that the company is no longer working in good faith.
UFCW Local 304A President B.J. Motley released the following statement:
“The workers of Smithfield have reached their limit on the amount of abuse they can tolerate from this cooperation. Like the rest of the country we face the same shortage of worker challenges. However, where most companies are finding accommodations to make the workload easier for employees, Smithfield continues to speed lines of production, verbally abuse their employees, take away essential sanitation cleanness measures, and completely neglect social distancing. In consequence we are seeing record number of quits, injuries, grievances and overall unhappiness.
“Our workers are tired, and their families are being affected by the heartlessness of the situation. Our members are being forced to come into work on the weekends, even if their department is not scheduled, so they may be outsourced out to other areas. All that our workers want is for the company to respect their very limited times with their families and treat them with the respect they deserve for being the essential workers that they are.
“Hopes were high as a new HR team came into the Sioux Falls facility, Including a new HR Director Monica Derby. However, in the short while that this “new” administration has been in place, we see that they are first and foremost there for the management team without little to no consideration of the hard-working production workers. We are trying to stay hopeful that the company does the right thing, and fear we are reaching the end of a good faith collaboration between the company and the union.
