One of the Tyson Foods executives resigned because they were betting on how many employees COVID-19 would pick up at their pork plant in Iowa, saying the office pool was spontaneous and meant to boost morale.
IOWA CITY, Iowa – One of the executives of Tyson Foods has resigned because they bet on how many workers COVID-19 would incur at a pork plant in Iowa, saying the office pool is spontaneously enjoyable and raises morale.
Don Merschbrock, former night manager at the plant in Waterloo, Iowa, said he spoke in an attempt to show that the seven fired supervisors are ‘not the evil people’ portrayed by Tyson.
“We really want to clear our names,” he told The Associated Press. “We actually worked very hard and took good care of our team members.”
Tyson announced the termination of the Waterloo drivers on December 16, weeks after the bet allegation surfaced in unlawful deaths by the families of four workers who died of COVID-19.
Tyson said an investigation led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder found sufficient evidence to terminate those involved, saying their actions violated the company’s values of respect and integrity. The company has asked Holder’s law firm to investigate the allegation after a public backlash threatened to damage its brand and demoralize its workers.
The Springdale, an Arkansas-based company, one of the largest meat producers in the world, did not disclose Holder’s findings and fired managers complained they were let go without explanation.
Merschbrock issued a statement and elaborated in an interview that he was more willing to speak than the other fired drivers, as he is not a nominated defendant in the lawsuits.
He said managers led the office’s pool last few minutes after mass tests of the plant’s about 2,800 employees.
Provincial officials said last May that more than 1,000 employees tested positive for the virus, which hospitalized several and killed at least six people. They detonated Tyson because he initially did not provide adequate protective equipment to workers and that he only turned on the plant after the outbreak tore through the city.
Lawyers for the estate of four dead workers portrayed the pool of commitment as an indication of the company’s insensitive attitude towards health and safety. They claim that managers underestimate the severity of the virus, and sometimes allow or encourage employees to work sick.
Tyson said the plant, the largest for pork and could process 20,000 pigs daily, was named a critical infrastructure by the federal government in March and that its leaders worked to ensure a “safe continuation of the national food supply.”
Merschbrock, who has been with Tyson for a decade, said managers were given the ‘impossible task’ of maintaining production while applying virus safety measures. They worked 12-hour days, six or seven days a week, he said.
Merschbrock said the office pool involved about $ 50 in cash, which was chosen to the winner who chose the right percentage of workers who tested positive for the virus. He added that those involved do not believe that the pool violates company policy and that the positive percentage of the plant 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 cleverly to solve a lot of unsolvable problems,” Merschbrock said. “It was simply something fun, a moral boost to make incredible efforts. There was never a malicious intent. It was never meant to disrespect anyone.”
A Tyson spokesman declined to comment on Merschbrock’s allegations.
Mel Orchard, a lawyer representing families of deceased employees, said protecting employees from the virus was not an “insoluble problem.” He says the issue was a corporate culture in which managers prioritized production and sales and viewed line workers as spent.
“When I listen to the stories of those who have lost a father, brother or wife, I have a hard time sympathizing with the drivers who worked extra hours and were tired,” he said. ‘But I do understand why and how it could have happened. “
Orchard represents the estate 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 hospitalization.
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This story corrects the spelling of Don Merschbrock’s surname in one reference.