{"id":12754,"date":"2020-11-22T15:28:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-22T21:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/?p=12754"},"modified":"2020-11-22T18:22:28","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T00:22:28","slug":"waterloo-lawmaker-calls-for-more-information-about-governors-response-to-tyson-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/waterloo-lawmaker-calls-for-more-information-about-governors-response-to-tyson-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"Waterloo Lawmaker Calls For More Information About Governor’s Response To Tyson Outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Katarina Sostaric, <\/b>Iowa Public Radio News\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Allegations surfaced in a lawsuit this week that Tyson pork plant managers in Waterloo were betting on how many workers would get sick from COVID-19. Now, a local lawmaker is renewing his call for the governor to provide more information about her response to the meatpacking plant outbreak that <\/span>infected more than 1,000 workers<\/span><\/a> last spring, many of whom are immigrants and refugees.<\/span><\/p>

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Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, <\/span>refused to shut down the plant in April after local officials asked<\/span><\/a> her to pause production as the coronavirus outbreak was already underway.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, Reynolds said Tyson officials assured her they were taking health precautions. <\/span>Local officials who toured the plant in early April<\/span><\/a> said the plant was not adequately protecting employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow we know the same individuals that [Reynolds] took their word for are the same individuals that were potentially betting on the lives of their employees,\u201d said Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo. \u201cAnd I\u2019m sure everything was fine to them, because they weren\u2019t the ones that were dying from COVID.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The families of some of the Tyson workers who died of COVID-19 <\/span>have filed lawsuits against the company<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>

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The <\/span>Iowa Capital Dispatch first reported Wednesday<\/span><\/a> that a court filing from the family of Isidro Fernandez alleges plant manager Tom Hart started a betting pool for supervisors to bet on how many workers would contract the virus.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lawsuit also alleges Tyson leaders successfully lobbied Reynolds to <\/span>protect businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits<\/span><\/a> and to not allow local governments to close businesses.<\/span><\/p>

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Smith said he was disgusted by the allegations but not surprised.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve seen is a lack of regard for the lives of people who have been actually putting their lives at stake to make sure that there\u2019s food on the shelves for Americans, but also people across the globe,\u201d Smith said.<\/span><\/p>

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Reynolds said Thursday she is proud that the state provided coronavirus testing for the Tyson workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is critical to our supply chain, and we know we have to do everything we can in our power to make sure that we\u2019re protecting our workforce,\u201d Reynolds said. \u201cThe way that I could help from a state perspective was to help get them the testing, which was very scarce at the time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But Reynolds declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith and Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, submitted a public records request to Reynolds\u2019 office in April. They asked for documents and communications that mentioned Tyson from some of the governor\u2019s top staffers.<\/span><\/p>\n

As of Friday, Smith had not received a response.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to know what the communication was between our governor and Tyson and her office, to know what she knows, what she knew and when she knew it, and what decisions she made after being informed about what was taking place there,\u201d Smith said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iowa Public Radio requested records from the governor\u2019s office related to the COVID-19 outbreak at a Tyson plant in Storm Lake, and has not received the requested records.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur office plans to fulfill all open records requests,\u201d said governor\u2019s office spokesperson Pat Garrett. \u201cResponses have been delayed during this unprecedented time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Thursday, Tyson Foods CEO Dean Banks<\/span> announced the Waterloo managers mentioned in the lawsuit were suspended<\/span><\/a> without pay, and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder would lead an investigation of the lawsuit\u2019s claims.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf these claims are confirmed, we\u2019ll take all measures necessary to root out and remove this disturbing behavior from our company,\u201d Banks said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Banks said Tyson \u201cinvested hundreds of millions of dollars\u201d to add protective measures to their meatpacking plants. Many of these steps were taken after the virus was already spreading in the Waterloo facility and other processing plants in the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rep. Smith said he has heard Tyson workers are still getting infected at the Waterloo plant as Iowa continues to have one of the highest rates of new COVID-19 cases in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

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