One of Tyson Foods’ managers fired because he bet on how many workers would hire COVID-19 at their Iowa pork factory, saying the office was spontaneous and intent on raising morale
IOWA CITY, Iowa – One of Tyson Foods’ managers fired because he bet on how many workers would hire COVID-19 at an Iowa pig factory, said the office pool was spontaneously fun and intended to lift morale.
Don Merschbrock, a former night manager at a plant in Waterloo, Iowa, said he was speaking in an attempt to show that the seven fired supervisors were not the “bad people” Tyson portrayed.
“We really want to erase our names,” he told The Associated Press. “In fact, we worked hard and took good care of our team members.”
Tyson announced the dismissal of managers in Waterloo on December 16, a few weeks after the betting charge appeared in the unjust death lawsuits filed by the families of four workers who died due to COVID-19.
Tyson said an investigation by former US Attorney General Eric Holder found enough evidence to put an end to those involved, saying their actions violated the company’s values of respect and integrity. The company had asked the law firm Holder to investigate the accusation after a public reaction threatened to damage its brand and demoralize workers.
The Springdale, Arkansas-based company, one of the world’s largest meat producers, did not release the Holder’s findings, and the fired managers complained that they were released without explanation.
Merschbrock issued a statement and explained in an interview that he is more willing to speak than the other fired managers because he is not a defendant named in the trials.
He said managers led the group of offices last spring within minutes of mass testing of the plant’s approximately 2,800 workers.
County officials said in May last year that more than 1,000 workers tested positive for the virus, which hospitalized several and killed at least six. They fired Tyson for not initially providing workers with adequate protective equipment and for slowing down the factory only after the outbreak broke through the city.
Lawyers for the properties of four deceased workers described the betting fund as indicative of the company’s insufficient attitude towards health and safety. They claimed that managers minimized the severity of the virus, sometimes allowing or encouraging employees to work while they were sick.
Tyson said the factory, the largest for pork and capable of processing 20,000 pigs daily, was designated critical infrastructure by the federal government in March and that its leaders worked to “continue safe operations to secure supplies.” with food at national level ”.
Merschbrock, who has been with Tyson for a decade, said managers were given the “impossible task” of maintaining production while implementing safety measures against the virus. He worked 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, he said.
The office fund involved about $ 50 in cash, which went to the winner who chose the right percentage of workers who tested positive for the virus, Merschbrock said. He added that those involved did not believe that the pool violated the company’s policy and believed that the factory’s positivity rate would be lower than the community rate due to their mitigation efforts.
“It was a group of exhausted supervisors who worked so hard and so smart to solve many unsolvable problems,” Merschbrock said. “It was simply something funny, a kind of moral boost because he put in an incredible effort. There was never any malicious intent. She was never meant to despise anyone. “
A Tyson spokesman declined to comment on Merschbrock’s allegations.
Mel Orchard, a lawyer representing the families of the deceased employees, said protecting workers from the virus is not “an unresolved issue.” He said the problem is a corporate culture in which directors have prioritized production and sales and treated line workers as spenders.
“Listening to the stories of those who lost a father, a brother or a wife, it’s hard for me to have sympathy for managers who worked overtime and were tired,” he said. “But I understand why and how it would be. this could have happened. “
The orchard represents the properties of Sedika Buljic, 58; Reberiano Garcia, 60; Jose Ayala Jr., 44; and Isidro Fernandez. Buljic, Garcia and Fernandez died in April, and Ayala died on May 25 after a six-week hospital stay.
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This story corrects the spelling of Don Merschbrock’s last name in a single reference.