US plants hope to maintain production despite virus threat

U.S. factories have been cranking out goods during much of pandemic at rates that are remarkably close to rmal. However, manufacturers are concerned y may t be able to keep pace until most of country is vaccinated because coronavirus continues to surge in areas where many plants are based.

Safeguards that were put in place after initial wave of virus appear to have prevented large outbreaks that sickened hundreds of workers and forced automakers, meat processors and or businesses to halt production last spring. But with nation's COVID-19 death toll eclipsing 300,000 and virus spiking in communities that surround plants, industry and union officials say it may be impossible to keep virus out of factories.

“We are seeing an increase in number of positive (test) rates like you're seeing in surrounding communities,” said Gary Johnson, chief manufacturing officer at Ford Motor Co., which has about 56,000 hourly factory workers nationwide. Federal Reserve statistics show that U.S. industrial output is about 5% below levels in February, before pandemic hit. It fell by 16.5% between February and April but has rebounded since, led by auto manufacturing.

Beef and pork production have both been running just below last year’s levels, Iowa State University agricultural ecomist Lee Schulz said.

But as it will be months before many people will be able to get vaccinated, factories will remain vulnerable. “Even though we are doing OK w, this virus can spread rapidly in areas,” said Mark Lauritsen, director of food processing and meatpacking division for United Food and Commercial Workers International union. “I worry every day that this virus will explode in one of our plants again, even with all precautions that we’ve taken.”

At auto plants and factories in or industries where United Auto Workers union represents workers, cases have risen slightly since around Halloween, but nearly all have been traced to outside of plants, said UAW President Rory Gamble.

Since reopening in May after an eight-week shutdown, three workers from Fiat Chrysler factories near Detroit have died from virus, raising fear among thousands of workers.

Gamble said much of fear has come from misinformation about workers catching virus in factories, which is t true.

“y need to have a complete understanding that we’re doing everything we can to keep m safe,” Gamble said. “Because y have a right to be afraid.”

statistics on pandemic’s impact on meatpacking industry offer plenty of reason to worry. UFCW union, which represents roughly 80% of nation’s beef and pork workers and 33% of its poultry workers, estimates that at least 19,800 meatpacking workers have been infected or exposed and 128 have died of COVID-19.

Employees such as Donald Nix, who works at a Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, agonizes about virus that sidelined him for 27 days in spring with a fever, body aches and severe headaches.

Nix, 51, is concerned because co-workers keep getting sick. During spring, more than 1,000 of plant’s 2,800 workers were infected and at least six died. “My workplace is still high risk. My job is still high risk,” he said.

But giants of meat industry — Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, JBS and Cargill — contend that safety measures that were put in place after major outbreaks last spring have enabled m to limit spread of virus.

“We made substantial investments in personal protective equipment, social distancing safeguards, and or increased health and safety measures across our business. We’ve seen a dramatic reduction in active cases involving our team members since last spring,” Tyson CEO Dean Banks recently told investors.

Measures include wellness questionnaires before work, temperature checks, plastic screens between work stations, increased cleaning of plants, random testing, and required use of masks and or protective equipment. industry spent roughly $2.5 billion on those improvements and additional pay for workers in first six months, said Will Sawyer, a protein ecomist at Cobank, an agribusiness bank.

At Ford, factories are operating at about 98% of ir pre-pandemic production. Most workers who have symptoms or have been exposed to virus stay home until danger of infecting ors has passed, limiting its spread in plants, Johnson said. automaker hires temporary workers to take ir place, allowing it to keep assembly lines running.

Auto and meatpacking companies say generally less than 1% of ir workforces are catching virus. Automakers and UAW are urging workers to wear masks in public outside plants.

Members of UAW, which represents 150,000 workers employed by General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, said companies largely have stuck to ir precautions and protocols.

“I kw of people who have had it and tested positive, but as far as I kw, y’re doing what y’re supposed to as far as quarantining and getting people tested,” said Andrea Repasky a forklift operator at GM’s pickup truck factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

People she passes at plant always wear protective gear correctly, she said. Manment posts how many people test positive on each shift, and numbers have been relatively small, even with a mir surge after Thanksgiving, she said.

Ford, General Motors, Toyota and ors are starting to see mir problems with smaller parts companies having to shut down factories due to virus outbreaks or government restrictions, especially in Mexico. Ford's Johnson said a truck driver short is affecting parts deliveries. company has lined up just-in-time freight to get parts to keep plants running, he said.

Ford had to delay production of its new Bronco SUV from spring until summer because of virus-related parts shorts that company wouldn’t specify.

Toyota said it has come close to halting assembly lines due to a lack of parts, but so far has mand to avoid it. “re have been a few close calls for sure,” said spokesman Scott Vazin. “Any given day, we’ve got up to 10 parts we’re closely monitoring on red alert.”

UFCW's Lauritsen said he hopes industry will continue working hard to limit spread of virus.

“We can’t get complacent just because things seem to be holding right w,” Lauritsen said. “We kw that plants of any kind — anytime people get toger in large groups — can act as a super spreader with this virus.”