Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz contacted public health officials after hearing reports that workers were pressured to work at the Pilgrim's Pride poultry processing plant in Athens even though they were sick during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Geertz said in a streamed town hall meeting Wednesday night that he also contacted the company directly and received updates, though he did not discuss the content of the updates.
He contacted officials with the Georgia Department of Health's Northeast Health District, who in turn contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture, he said. The USDA is the federal agency with regulatory oversight of meat processing facilities, such as the Pilgrim's Pride plant, one of Athens' largest employers.
“So they know eyes are on them,” Geertz said, responding to a viewer's question, read by Athens-Clarke Commissioner Mariah Parker during the online community meeting.
Meat processing facilities are in the news nationally as some have been revealed to be hot spots for the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. A handful have closed due to the spread of COVID-19 among workers.
Earlier this week, President Trump ordered meatpacking companies to keep their plants open in the face of a possible meat shortage, while a union representing workers in the industry, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, called on governors to enforcing CDC guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
More than 5,000 workers nationwide have contracted COVID-19, 20 have died and nearly two dozen facilities have closed, according to the union.
Georgia is the nation's top poultry-producing state, and poultry is by far the state's top agricultural product, contributing $18.4 billion annually to the state's economy, according to the Georgia Poultry Federation. According to the federation, the state produces about 26 million pounds of chicken per day.
