When President Trump signed an executive order last week to keep meat processing facilities open amid the coronavirus pandemic, many people rejoiced since it meant there would be no disruption to the food supply chain.
But Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union — which represents workers in food processing, retail, and light manufacturing industries — lambasted the move.
“That decision was outrageous and was the wrong thing to do,” Appelbaum told Yahoo Finance. “What President Trump’s action does is to require plants to stay open, even if there are serious reasons for them to be closed by state or other authorities when a plant is closed for the purposes of deep cleaning and protecting the safety and lives of working people. And Trump is saying he’s not going to allow that to happen. It’s the wrong decision because the best way to protect the food chain is to protect the safety of the workers.”