We allocated a portion of grant funds as well as all of the award money from a prize HEAL received (the Jean Mayer Prize that HEAL from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University) for the first round of funding to provide emergency grants to member and ally organizations to address needs related to COVID-19, climate chaos, or civil response to political conditions. In this first round, grants were offered in the range of $3,000-$8,000, depending on the number of applications received. To date, the Rapid Response fund has redistributed $40K to 10 food and farm justice organizations, and will continue to raise and distribute funding as needed.

Cover page photo credit: The Farmworker Association of Florida

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Food justice, labor, environmental, farming, and animal welfare organizations launch week of action, send letter to shareholders demanding worker protections

Little Rock, AR – July 6, 2020 — More than 120 groups launched a week of action against Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) demanding the company address the rising number of COVID-19 cases affecting workers at its chicken, pork, and beef processing facilities.

A letter sent to Tyson shareholders this morning is the first in a series of actions this week to pressure the company to implement essential worker safety measures needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The week of action kicks off as the Senate goes into recess without passing legislation requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to implement an Emergency Temporary Standard to protect meatpacking and other frontline workers. 

Meatpacking workers nationwide, including those at Tyson, have been fighting for safe working conditions since March. More than 8,500 Tyson employees at 37 poultry, pork, and beef plants in seven states have been confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19, an infection count more than double that of any other meatpacker. Tragically, more than 25 Tyson workers have died from the virus. 

In response to the meat giant’s continued neglect of workers’ safety,120 organizations are demanding that Tyson protect workers by: 

• providing personal protective equipment 
• offering paid sick leave 
• slowing down slaughter line speeds 
• comprehensively providing testing 
• ensure workers can practice physical distancing 
• respecting the right to organize, including protecting workers from retaliation, and 
• eliminating the punitive point system that results in unfairly firing workers who miss a certain number of shifts, including those who are legitimately afraid to go back to work because of unsafe working conditions due to COVID-19.  

“I have been organizing workers at poultry processing plants in northwest Arkansas since 2014, and I can tell you there is more to this than a concern for your right to an uninterrupted supply of chicken tenders, bacon, and T-bone steaks,” says Magaly Licolli of Venceremos, a worker-based grassroots organization fighting for better working conditions for poultry workers. “We’re in such a crucial moment right now. For the future of the country, we must think deeply about the meaning of frontline food workers in our daily lives and stand up for their human rights and dignity — because they’ve always been essential, and if they don’t survive, we won’t survive.”

The week of action against Tyson comes on the heels of tens of thousands of letters sent by concerned citizens to the company demanding swift action to protect workers. Tomorrow, environmental, labor, food justice and animal welfare leaders will also stand in solidarity with Venceremos and frontline meatpacking workers in urging Governor Hutchinson to close plants where workers have tested positive for COVID-19. The rest of the week will include petitions, social media, emails, and phone calls calling on Tyson to immediately implement the basic health and safety measures listed above. 

“These high rates of COVID-19 infection are just one symptom of the exploitation that Tyson workers have faced for too long,” said Navina Khanna, executive director of the HEAL Food Alliance. “This degree of exploitation is only possible because of the consolidation of the industry — right now, only a handful of companies control a majority of the market, and they are literally writing the rules around worker protections. They are throwing whole communities and the environment under the bus. Trump’s Executive Order has emboldened these companies, and we are here today, across sector and geography, to show this company that there are consequences for their negligence.”

“Tyson’s egregious treatment of workers during COVID-19 is only the latest example of the company showing disregard for its employees, its contract growers, local communities, the environment, consumers, and animal welfare,” said Chloë Waterman, Program Manager at Friends of the Earth. “This week of action gives impacted communities and organizations across sectors the opportunity to stand in solidarity with Tyson workers who are being forced to choose between their jobs and their lives during this pandemic.” 

“Even during a pandemic, Tyson has continued to prioritize profits over worker safety, animal welfare, and public health,” said Taylor Ford, Director of Corporate Engagement at The Humane League. “For too long, Tyson has treated both workers and animals as unfeeling commodities, serving the single purpose of supporting its bottom line. The Humane League is proud to stand alongside organizations urging that the industry leader take critical steps to rebuild our broken food system and make meaningful changes for those victimized within its supply chain.”

Press Contacts: 

Friends of the Earth: Aisha Dukule, adukule@foe.org, 202-893-3502

HEAL Food Alliance: Jose Oliva, jose@healfoodalliance.org, 773-612-2559

The Humane League: Julia Tomkins, jtomkins@thehumaneleague.org, 973-722-4736

Venceremos: Magaly Licolli, venceremos.ar@gmail.com

For information on how to participate in ongoing actions, check out  HEAL’s Worker Action Center and the Action Toolkit which contains reading material, sample social media posts, and graphics you can use all week.

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Tell Congress to Invest in Food workers, Farmers and Healthy Food Systems 

Even before the pandemic, 37 million people in the US were food insecure, many regional farmers were struggling to turn a profit, and food and farm workers were excluded from labor laws. HEAL has been working around the clock with partners to change this—to ensure that our nation’s food workers and food systems can thrive in this period and beyond. Help spread the word and shape this conversation as Congress determines ongoing Stimulus funding.

Check out our members’ priorities, and share with your networks on Facebook and on Twitter.

Sign these petitions to support food workers

• Join the Food Chain Workers Alliance in calling on gov’t to act – Demand big food corporations provide sick pay, hazard pay, family leave, and respect the right to organize. Here are a few petitions from food worker organizations:
  • Tyson and other poultry companies, via Venceremos
  • Major restaurant chains via ROC United
  • Amy’s Bread via Brandworkers
  • Amazon

Donate. If you’re receiving a stimulus check that you don’t need, consider passing it on. A few places we recommend:

• ROC United started a fund for restaurant workers who have lost their jobs
• Mai Nguyen is starting a fund to support Black, Indigenous, and POC regional farmers who are growing for their communities. Email Mai to learn more.
• Many communities are setting up relief funds for undocumented folks, who will not receive federal aid. Find one, and donate there. Here’s a list of places you can donate to for folks in California.
• Donate to grassroots organizations that are building power with workers and farmers.

Because community needs and efforts to organize around them are rapidly evolving, we’ll be keeping this list as updated as we can. Make sure to check back for more actions, updates and resources. You can also sign up here to receive updates directly to your inbox.  

The post Here’s how you can support farmers and food workers through COVID19 appeared first on HEAL Food Alliance.

Even as many of us ‘shelter-in-place’,  the people harvesting our produce, the warehouse workers, delivery drivers and grocery store workers –  are all still going to work so that the rest of us have enough to eat. Many of them are still denied fair pay and safe working conditions, and many lack access to safety nets. For some, conditions are being worsened by increased demand.  Additionally, these workers, in constant contact with one another, with food, equipment and clients, need access to the best preventive health care practices and materials, and to testing, prompt treatment, and insurance protection should they contract the disease. 

Regional farmers and fishers are ready to feed our communities, but many lack basic infrastructure and financial resources that would enable them to scale up and deliver regionally to meet community needs and emergency food needs. Even before the pandemic, independent farmers and fishers were already struggling to maintain their operations which is why these types of support are critical to both their livelihoods and local food supplies at this time.  

Investment in these community members, not in corporations, is not only the right thing to do, it is a necessary response to this pandemic and to ensure that our communities can survive crises. The lives and livelihoods of frontline food workers, farmers, and our communities, and the resilience of our food system depends on strategic investment of the COVID-19 stimulus package today. 

Here are the policy priorities we’ve heard from the HEAL Food Alliance’s members, with additional input from allies: 

SUPPORT FOOD & FARM WORKERS

HEALTH AND SAFETY GUARANTEES FOR FOOD WORKERS:

• All employers must be required to provide workers with information on how to protect themselves from the virus and guarantee safe workplaces including providing protective equipment, frequent and regular hand-washing breaks, and the required space for “social distancing.”  
  • Allocate funding as needed for language-appropriate information transfer
• Farmworkers must be provided easy access to a sufficient amount of clean water at close proximity to the work site and the same health & safety information and protective equipment must be given to workers in crowded and substandard employer-provided housing.

EXPAND WORKPLACE STANDARDS AND THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE:

• Employers in industries expanding worker hours, including retail, warehousing and distribution, and delivery, must make overtime voluntary and guarantee overtime pay.
• All food workers continuing to provide essential services should be entitled to receive HAZARD pay at a premium of time and a half. 
• All food workers must have the right to organize so they can meaningfully exercise their labor rights and protect themselves and their communities. 

INCOME FOR ALL WORKERS:

• Ensure that all workers receive the supplemental income they need to survive, regardless of immigration or employment status by: 
  • Expanding access to unemployment insurance to all workers
  • Setting up lost wage funds that covers full replacement of wages for both workers and for employers who pay lost wages
  • Providing monthly cash payments to all residents to support workers and their families during this crisis. 
  • Providing financial assistance to small businesses like street vendors, bodegas, and local eateries. 

PAID SICK DAYS AND HEALTHCARE FOR ALL:

• Access to free testing and healthcare coverage for all workers regardless of immigration status, including H2A and migrant workers.
• Legislate a minimum of 15 paid sick days per year, additional paid sick days in public health emergencies, and paid family leave, regardless of size of workplace.

PROTECTIONS FOR IMMIGRANTS

• Immediate moratorium on the Public Charge Rule which would disqualify immigrants who use public assistance from obtaining permanent residency status. 
• An immediate moratorium on all immigration enforcement, including repatriations and deportations of guest workers and non-status migrants  
• An immediate release of all immigration detainees from detention centers and detention camps, and adequate health services for all. 
• A removal of restrictions on work permits for guest workers and migrant workers who have been laid off or terminated, or who fall ill and need to remain in the country to access health care.  

EXPAND FOOD ACCESS

• The definition of “homebound” for the Meals on Wheels program should include all seniors, who should be staying at home
• Strengthen and expand Double Up Food Bucks and allow all program funds to cover direct sales from family-scale farms/boats
• Establish an Emergency Tribal Food Assistance Fund and enhance the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) for food, administration, and infrastructure, along with providing administrative flexibility.
• Direct USDA to allow dual participation in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and FDPIR simultaneously for all those eligible.
• Expand, increase, and protect food and nutrition programs like SNAP and Women, Infants and Children (WIC), with no discriminatory barriers including testing, citizenship, or work requirements, and expand healthy and sustainable options within those programs 
• Direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support regional farmers to supply food directly to food banks, schools, and other emergency food suppliers

ENABLE SMALL-SCALE/INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS TO PROVIDE FOOD FOR COMMUNITIES

• Provide immediate funds for purchase of small-scale equipment including farm equipment, refrigeration, trucking, and delivery systems to ensure independent farmers can meet current demand 
• Ensure all farmers, ranchers, and fisherpeople are included in any broader stimulus or farm relief package, with specific prioritization of small and mid-sized operations, limited resource producers, and farms operated by farmers of color and tribal nations who are currently not well served by existing crop insurance, revenue programs, Market Facilitation Program payments. 
• Secure and protect land access and non-predatory credit and capital for independent producers, particularly producers of color
• Equalize and expand access to crop insurance, technical assistance, low interest credit, and technical assistance for independent producers, particularly producers of color
• Place moratorium on farm land foreclosures with an independent review on cause and effect
• Provide emergency financial relief to independent farmers who are at risk of farm business closures due to the pandemic
• Provide financial support for smaller and independent producers to pay a living wage to farmworkers  
• The President and the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture should unlock existing federal emergency and disaster funding services directed specifically toward independent producers to feed their communities 
• Direct USDA to utilize the authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act related to income stabilization to make emergency disaster payments to family-scale farmers/ranchers/fishermen and independent agriculture and seafood businesses to donate and distribute fresh and minimally processed foods, at market rates, directly to individuals, families, food hubs, and schools.

PROVIDE CREDIT, LOAN SERVICING, AND DEBT RELIEF FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS

• Local Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offices should aggressively use every tool available to keep farm families in their homes and on the land 
• Increase funding for direct and guaranteed loan programs and implement zero-interest operating loans for family-scale farmers, fishermen, and ranchers, while ensuring that borrower rights for FSA direct loans are extending to all guaranteed borrowers. Emphasize support for “socially disadvantaged” farmers and ranchers
• Declare a two year national moratorium on farm foreclosures and require agriculture mediation for all future farm foreclosure proceedings after that point.
• Forgive FSA loan debt held by small-scale producers and suspend debt payments (both principal and interest) for two years for all producers 
• Adapt USDA and Small Business Administration (SBA) credit, financing and funding implementation requirements to meet the evolving demands of farmers, ranchers, and fishermen through measures such as extending deadlines, waiving cost-share requirements, ensuring effective outreach to producers or other actions.

BOLSTER LOCAL & REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS POISED TO FEED COMMUNITIES

• Exempt farmers’ markets from definitions of “public places” and categorize them as “essential services” in order to continue feeding local communities. Provide financial assistance for farmers markets operators to implement safety measures to protect sellers and consumers.
• Create access to emergency grants and loans to enable producers to purchase equipment to ensure continuity of food access and delivery systems 
• Increase funding for USDA Local Agriculture Marketing Program (LAMP) to strengthen local food system resilience
• Provide additional funding of at least $100 million for FDPIR to ensure tribes can adequately respond to food insecurity among their citizens.
• In order to support small and very small meat and poultry processors, waive all USDA inspector overtime costs for this fiscal year for plants with a USDA Grant of Inspection with less than 50 employees. 
• Create opportunities for regional food chain initiatives by expanding financing, technical assistance, and procurement support for community owned and “socially disadvantaged” farmers, fishers, and ranchers
• Ensure that food safety rules support small farmers, fishers and regional food systems; expand training and technical assistance; make certifications more affordable and accessible (reducing penalty fines) for small farmers
• Ensure regional food systems by promoting and funding worker-owned food and agriculture cooperatives during the duration of the pandemic
• Subsidize expanded, energy-efficient on-farm and community cold storage and refrigerated vehicles 

SYSTEM REFORM FOR AGRICULTURAL RESILIENCE

• Pass systemic fair pricing legislation, coupled with supply management, for food producers to strengthen rural economic resilience
• Support fair agricultural contracts, farmer/grower/rancher rights, and competitive markets by reissuing and finalizing the USDA Farmer Fair Practice Rules
• Prohibit crisis profiteering and corporate consolidation by enacting an immediate moratorium on acquisitions and mergers in the food and agriculture sector and enforce antitrust laws.
• Ensure community food supply systems by investing in infrastructure for worker and neighborhood-owned food enterprises 
• Ensure that any farms that receive a bailout implement stewardship practices; make real, measurable conservation a condition of eligibility for bailout

The post Invest in food workers, farmers and local communities first: Our response to Congress’ COVID-19 aid package appeared first on HEAL Food Alliance.