After major COVID outbreaks, Foster Farms’ duty now is to keep essential workers safe

Only after major COVID outbreaks at two of Foster Farms’ production plants, and an order by a judge, has one of the nation’s largest poultry producers begun to deal with the virus and worker safety in any effective way.

This past week Foster Farms offered vaccinations for COVID to its workers at one of its Fresno plants. It received a 1,000-dose supply of the Moderna vaccine, and 850 workers signed up for shots, according to a company spokesman.

While the vaccination clinic was a good step toward ensuring a healthy workforce at the facility, it came after an outbreak at the Cherry Avenue plant in December sickened about 200 employees and was one of the biggest infection events in Fresno County at the time.

Three employees from the Cherry Avenue plant died last year from complications caused by COVID infections. Another Foster Farms worker, assigned to the plant on West Belgravia Avenue, also died from the virus.

In Merced County, an outbreak at the Foster Farms chicken plant in Livingston last year led to more than 400 workers becoming infected, and nine employees died.

The Livingston facility is one of the largest chicken processing plants in the nation. Foster Farms’ slow response to the outbreak there led to the United Farm Workers filing a lawsuit asking the Superior Court to force the company to improve working conditions.

Worker protections

On Jan. 29 Merced County Superior Court Judge Brian L. McCabe issued a preliminary injunction against Foster Farms that mandates the company step up its protections for Livingston workers. The injunction followed a temporary restraining order issued in late December that required, in part, the company distribute and enforce the use of face masks or shields to workers where social distancing isn’t possible.

On Monday Foster Farms officials said they will not comment on “active litigation — nor orders related to such — in detail.” But they pledged they are abiding by the rules.

“To date, Foster Farms has performed nearly 100,000 tests since the beginning of the pandemic, including over 40,000 tests at its Livingston Poultry Complex. We believe this is the most extensive testing program undertaken by any food processor in California,” company officials said in a statement.

UFW suit

That Foster Farms is protecting workers with proper equipment, testing, health screening upon entry and vaccinations is all well and good. It is also what should be expected at a minimum. Foster Farms is no mom-and-pop company. Though family owned, in 2019 it was ranked as the 10th largest poultry producer in the nation, and that same year Forbes estimated its annual revenue at $2.4 billion.

The Livingston plant outbreak dates back to August. It should not have taken worker deaths, a farm worker union going to court, and the resulting judicial findings, to push Foster Farms to do the right thing. Frankly, every protective measure put into place there should be standard throughout Foster Farms plants in Fresno and Merced County.

And while agribusiness companies never want to give an inch to the UFW, in this instance, Foster Farms should stop any appeal of McCabe’s order and just abide by it. The judge wants basic worker protections to be in place. That is not too much to ask, and is not worth fighting over.

As Monique Alonso, the lawyer representing the union, put it: “If they have not done anything wrong, that is good. But the whole point of all of this is that someone is now watching.”

Foster Farms markets itself as the best choice for consumers based on a top-quality product. Dressing up those chicken breasts, however, is a workforce that is essential and yet at risk of contracting the respiratory virus that has caused the global pandemic.

The company cannot oversee employees when they are off their shifts. But for the working hours they are present, Foster Farms must do its utmost to make their conditions as safe as possible.

This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 9:49 AM with the headline "After major COVID outbreaks, Foster Farms’ duty now is to keep essential workers safe."