Workers, Unions Push Back Against Trump’s Executive Order to Keep Meatpackers Open

Yesterday, President Donald Trump signed a five-page executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to keep meatpacking plants run by companies such as Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), Hormel (NYSE: HRL), Smithfield Foods, Inc., and others open in the face of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The order designates the food processing facilities and slaughterhouses as critical infrastructure that must remain operational, while augmenting liability protection for the companies involved.

The order comes as the novel coronavirus has infected approximately 6,500 workers in meatpacking and other food plants, killing at least 20 people. In response to the pandemic, Tyson shuttered its biggest pork facility last Wednesday, one of a series of closures. Hog farmers may be slammed by $5 billion in losses this year as they euthanize pigs.

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Source Fool.com