Meatpacking in the COVID-19 context: Barriers to disease mitigation, worker justice, and the need for sector reform

In January 2020, the coronavirus began spreading rapidly across the United States and became an emergent public health crisis. To mitigate the spread of the virus, state, local, and federal gov­ern­ments implemented various disease mitigation strategies including mask mandates, social distanc­ing requirements, and business closures. However, under the Defense Production Act of 1950, meat­packing plants were designated as essential infra­structure and maintained operation throughout the pandemic. Drawing on 39 in-depth interviews, this article analyzes (1) factors that influenced responses to worker safety during COVID-19 in the meatpacking sector; (2) barriers to disease miti­gation and worker justice; and (3) the conse­quences of industry concentration during an unprecedented public health crisis. Research results show that inadequate safety measures implemented by meat­packing firms, particularly in the early months of the pandemic, when com­bined with limited federal oversight, contributed significantly to unsafe work­ing conditions and increased risk of disease trans­mission. These findings highlight the need for reforming worker safety policies, diversification of the sector, and the development of a more robust workers’ compensation system to better protect the health and safety of meatpacking workers.