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Just published: a months-long investigation into a Missouri meatpacking plant by @RachelAxon @skychadde & myself, w/ assistance from many others @USATODAY & @IMidwest. Read the full story in English or Spanish here, or follow this thread for highlights /1 https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/11/11/coronavirus-death-pork-plants-meat-packing/6044754002/
Through the spring, we covered outbreaks at meatpacking plants on a national scale. We learned a lot about how the pressure to keep business going was influencing decisions by companies and government, at the expense of the safety of workers. /2 https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/05/21/coronavirus-american-chicken-beef-industry-vulnerable-despite-trump/3107636001/
But then @GannettDavis had an idea: drill down on one single meatpacking plant and tell the story of the outbreak there. Cue 5 months of FOIA requests, worker interviews, deep research, and on-the-ground reporting from @skychadde in the middle of a pandemic /3
We focused on Triumph Foods in St. Joseph, MO, about an hour north of Kansas City. Although it's privately owned and not as well-known as industry giants like Tyson and Smithfield, it's the second largest pork-packing plant in the country and can process 21,000+ hogs a day /4
Triumph's story is similar to other plants hard hit by the virus: 622 workers positive, 4 deaths, out of ~2,800 workers. But what sets it apart from many is that it never shut down, even though its outbreak occurred at the apex of the nationwide crisis in plants /5
From the beginning, Triumph appeared behind the 8 ball. Here's an email with state Ag officials saying in mid-March that a Tyson plant in MO had been in touch with requests for temperature scanners, but Triumph had yet to reach out. /6 https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20404563-document-u-3-14-chinn-email-about-scanners
By this time, federal officials had already started telling Americans to keep good hygiene & distance from one another. But that was impossible at Triumph, where lineworkers stand 3 feet apart. They sensed danger & began warning local health officials /7 https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20404079-usa-today-triumph-investigation-documents#document/p27
One worker told the local St. Joes Health Department on April 6 that "people are coming to work with a fever, coughing on each other." /8 https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20404079-usa-today-triumph-investigation-documents#document/p28
Triumph did take numerous actions over the course of the timeline, including those for cleaning, hygiene, sick policies, testing, etc. They didn't agree to interviews or directly answer Qs we provided, but said they spent $7M and provided a statement /9 https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20404393-31-triumph-foods-response-full
But through April, there were crucial missteps. Triumph didn't mandate mask wearing in the plant until the outbreak was discovered. That came 2+ weeks after the CDC first recommended it for Americans and after other major meatpacking plants had already closed due to outbreaks /10
Workers also warned there was illness in the plant, online and to the health department. But the health dpt never inspected, and took Triumph's assurances that nothing was amiss. Then the first two workers tested positive on April 20, and hell broke loose /11
The state health department quickly stepped in to test all 2,800 workers. It was an unprecedented step at that time, and seemed to match the urgency: major plants like Smithfield Sioux Falls and JBS Greeley had already closed and demonstrated what was at stake. /12
But even after 100+ cases had been discovered within days, Randall Williams, the state health director, did not recommend closure of the plant. (37:13 in the video) /13 https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2696090857180821&ref=watch_permalink&t=2233
The mayor of St. Joseph wrote to his staff "shut it down" when there were just 9 cases. But his staff told him they couldn't: an earlier statewide order by Williams said the state had taken the authority for such decisions. /14 https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20404079-usa-today-triumph-investigation-documents#document/p39
Workers started a petition to close the plant for at least a week to allow for distancing and cleaning. But even as the cases reached 490, the plant never closed. /15 https://www.change.org/p/mike-parson-donal-trump-el-cierre-por-una-semana-de-la-planta-de-triumph-foods-st-joseph-mo-the-closure-for-a-week-of-the-plant-of-triumph-foods-st-joseph-mo
Making matters worse, after being tested, workers were sent back to the line. They continued working shoulder to shoulder for several days until results came back. Then came the realization that the healthy had been mixed with the sick for those days. Again, 3 feet apart. /16
There were heartbreaking human costs. Arturo Chavez Valencia, a father of 3, was the first worker to die from COVID. We spoke with his wife, Gabriela Ramirez. Also a Triumph employee, she took vacation time to fly his ashes back to his native Mexico /17 https://www.meierhoffer.com/obituaries/Arturo-Chavez-Valencia?obId=12944626
Bernardo Serpa tested negative during mass testing, but was sent back to the line & tested positive a week later. He was hospitalized for months and spent his birthday in a coma. We interviewed him in July, his health still failing. He died Oct. 16. /18 https://www.ruppfuneral.com/obituary/bernardo-serpa
Two more workers also died in early July. Their families declined to speak to us. /19
Our reporting dives deep behind the scenes. We found clear indications there was a push to keep Triumph open from the beginning. In this 3/17 email, the state ag director says of meatpacking plants: "Obviously, we need them to keep their doors open." /20 https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20404568-031720-re-business-outreach
When Christensen Farms, a MN-based hog farming company & largest stakeholder of Triumph, emailed the same official on 4/15, she noted "Our Governor knows how important it is for these processing plants to stay running, he is a cattle producer himself" /21 https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20404079-usa-today-triumph-investigation-documents#document/p6
Speaking of Christensen Farms, its CEO is also the board prez of Triumph. His personal FB page is littered w/ coronavirus misinformation, much of it flagged. He shared a video on 4/19 that claimed 5G was actually making people sick, among other claims /22 https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20404079-usa-today-triumph-investigation-documents#document/p3
Triumph also lobbied federal officials. After the CDC released guidelines for meatpacking plants, Triumph took issue w/ 6. It worked with two local US Reps to draft a letter to CDC. Director Redfield personally wrote back to clarify they were optional /23 https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20404079-usa-today-triumph-investigation-documents#document/p50
There was a greater federal assist: the April 28 executive order on meatpacking from President Trump. It had a chilling effect on plant closures nationwide. It also came right as Triumph's outbreak was discovered, and company officials pointed to it as a reason to stay open. /24
Ultimately, the story of Triumph is the story of an industry. And one experts we spoke to in April predicted: production and profits at the expense of workers and safety. Again, our full reporting here. /25 https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/11/11/coronavirus-death-pork-plants-meat-packing/6044754002/
Is there enough room in a Tweet for all those who brought this story to readers, in two languages?? @kcrowebasspro @_erinmansfield @emily_lecoz @DougCaruso @pamelagdempsey @MellyLifeLiver @Jennart @JZarracina @maracorbett etc. etc. /end
