PROJECT PROTECT FOOD SYSTEMS REQUESTS DATA ON COLORADO MEAT PACKING

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Many of the jobs in the food system pay low wages, offer few benefits, and place workers in close proximity to each other or to the general public. Thus, many FSWs face common COVID-related risks. However, each worker’s ability to safely navigate these risks varies tremendously due to factors including legal and socio-economic status; the nature of their particular job duties; the workplace policies, ethics, and accountability of their particular employer(s); their ability to participate in labor organizations and the strength of collective worker voice; and their level of social inclusion and embeddedness in community.

We know that meat packing workers face higher risks of contraction and spreading of COVID-19. According to the CDC, “about 9% of workers at meat and poultry processing facilities across 14 states have been diagnosed with Covid-19”. In Colorado, there have been almost 500 cases of COVID-19 in the meatpacking community, with 11 deaths as of July 26, 2020.

DATA REQUESTED BY PROJECT PROTECT FOOD SYSTEMS

• Data related to NAICS codes: 1121 Cattle Ranching and Farming, 1122 Hog and Pig Farming, 1123 Poultry and Egg Production, 1124 Sheep and Goat Farming, 3115 Dairy Product Manufacturing, 3116 Animal Slaughtering and Processing, and 42447 Meat and Meat Product Merchant Wholesalers
• Locations of licensed meat processing facilities in Colorado
• Numbers of meat packing workers currently employed in Colorado in 2020
• Languages spoken by workers in meat packing facilities
• Race, ethnicity, and/or nationality demographics of meat packing workers
• The R0 (rate of contagion spread) within facilities that have had outbreaks.
• Which meat packing plants employ worker on H-2B guest worker visas and how many H2B workers they each employ.
• If use of H-2B guest worker visas has changed over time and, in particular, since the US Department of Homeland Security issued Temporary Changes to Requirements Affecting H-2B Nonimmigrants Due to the COVID-19 National Emergency in May 2020.
• Data on utilization of and compliance with  safety procedures and paid leave policies in place in meat packing facilities at the administrative level (including if and how the SHIELD · TEST · TRACE · TREAT framework is implemented)
• Counts on numbers of meat packing workers who are simultaneously employed elsewhere (either at another meat facility, another food facility, or in another industry.)
• Data on transmission of COVID between meat processing workers and members of their households or family.

WHO WE EXPECT HOLDS THIS DATA

• HR departments, foremen, and floor managers who directly interact with workers daily
• Government agencies tracking labor and economics of industries in above classified  NAICS codes
• Legal services for worker classifications defined above
• Nonprofit agencies serving food industry workers and immigrant groups

DATA  SECURITY

Data security is of high priority for Project Protect Food Systems. We understand the sensitivity of this data and place individual safety and security of our friends, family, and community members at the center of this work. As such, any data that is shared with Project Protect Food Systems falls under a strict confidential policy where all data will be scrubbed and anaomized to the county level, especially for any public facing reports or share-outs.

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PPFS is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: PPFS: Meat Packers data request

Time: Aug 17, 2020 03:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

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Meeting ID: 856 2358 6017

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Meeting ID: 856 2358 6017