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Rural Community Workers Alliance
Meatpacking plant workers in rural Missouri face difficult conditions every day. Your support can make a difference.
In April 2020, Rural Community Workers Alliance made headlines with its lawsuit against a Smithfield Foods pork plant in Milan, Missouri. RCWA and one courageous anonymous worker raised concerns about Smithfield’s failure to protect workers against coronavirus, even while other plants were closing due to tremendous outbreaks. As the New York Times reported, “Missouri Pork Plant Workers Say They Can’t Cover Mouths to Cough .”
RCWA and workers in the area have seen great public support as the Washington Post published a first-person account from Jane Doe and other major news outlets brought our stories across the country. What RCWA needs now is access to resources to do more of what we do: organize meatpacking plant workers to improve health and safety conditions, address wage theft, and support immigrant communities to address issues like language access in healthcare, community services, and food access.
On May 5, we learned that the court dismissed our lawsuit, finding that Smithfield had taken steps to address the issues our worker members had raised. While we disagree that those changes are enough, we know that any changes that have been implemented have been the result of brave workers who came forward to demand better conditions.
Now that the national spotlight has landed on workers for a moment, help us turn that into long-term power building. With the right resources, RCWA could expand to more than one organizer, and support many more workers in advocating for themselves and getting the support they need.
It is also worth noting that many immigrants and their families across the country have been left out of urgently needed COVID-19 relief. Processing plants rely on immigrant labor, so we know the need is great in our community. If you can make a contribution to RCWA, it will go directly to supporting workers and their families and building power in our community.
In April 2020, Rural Community Workers Alliance made headlines with its lawsuit against a Smithfield Foods pork plant in Milan, Missouri. RCWA and one courageous anonymous worker raised concerns about Smithfield’s failure to protect workers against coronavirus, even while other plants were closing due to tremendous outbreaks. As the New York Times reported, “Missouri Pork Plant Workers Say They Can’t Cover Mouths to Cough .”
RCWA and workers in the area have seen great public support as the Washington Post published a first-person account from Jane Doe and other major news outlets brought our stories across the country. What RCWA needs now is access to resources to do more of what we do: organize meatpacking plant workers to improve health and safety conditions, address wage theft, and support immigrant communities to address issues like language access in healthcare, community services, and food access.
On May 5, we learned that the court dismissed our lawsuit, finding that Smithfield had taken steps to address the issues our worker members had raised. While we disagree that those changes are enough, we know that any changes that have been implemented have been the result of brave workers who came forward to demand better conditions.
Now that the national spotlight has landed on workers for a moment, help us turn that into long-term power building. With the right resources, RCWA could expand to more than one organizer, and support many more workers in advocating for themselves and getting the support they need.
It is also worth noting that many immigrants and their families across the country have been left out of urgently needed COVID-19 relief. Processing plants rely on immigrant labor, so we know the need is great in our community. If you can make a contribution to RCWA, it will go directly to supporting workers and their families and building power in our community.
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