Worker Safety Needs To Be A Priority In Fruit Packing Houses

Since early May, workers at several fruit packing houses in the Yakima area have walked off the job, demanding additional safety protocols and equipment to protect them from coronavirus. Could the federal government get involved with fruit packing plants similar to the way COVID-19 issues at meat packing plants were handled by the Trump Administration?

Central Washington representative Dan Newhouse said it’s still too early to say if that step is needed. He said while there are some similarities between the two, he feels the companies and workers can work out their differences.

“A situation that our workers need to maintain safe working conditions.  I think that the packing houses are working are hard as they can to provide that.  The workers should fee assured that they’re safety is a business’s first concern, and I think it is.”

Newhouse added it’s critical that these health and safety issues be resolved as soon as possible, with fruit harvest scheduled in get underway in the coming weeks.

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