Advocacy groups plan car rally at Perdue to support worker concerns

Several advocacy groups plan a car rally at the Perdue processing plant in Accomac this afternoon at 3:30 pm. The groups are in support of workers who want more measures to be taken at the plant to protect them from the corona virus.  Accomack County reported an increase in the number of cases over the weekend.   Neither Health Department nor corporate officials have publically identified either poultry plant as a  center for outbreaks of the virus but the Eastern Shore Health District has said that the dramatic increase in cases centers around five outbreaks in Accomack County.

Tyson Foods is expected to reopen today after being closed over the weekend for deep cleaning.

One group called the Virginia Justice Project for Farm and Immigrant Workers wrote a letter to Governor Northam raising concerns about issues at Virginia’s poultry processing plants.

Both Tyson and Perdue have taken measures to insure the safety of their workers but the advocacy groups contend that not enough is being done. Both plants are considered critical food producers during the COVID-19 outbreak.  As reported on ShoreDailyNews.com Friday, both plants together produce on average over 8 million meals each week.

Meanwhile the Baltimore Sun reports that over 2 million chickens are expected to be destroyed on the Delmarva Peninsula because of lack of available staffing at the Eastern Shore’s poultry processing plants.

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