COVID-19

Emails Reveal Chaos as Meatpacking Companies Fought Health Agencies Over COVID-19 Outbreaks in Their Plants

By Michael Grabell (Pro Publica), Claire Perlman (ProPublica) and Bernice Yeung (ProPublica) | June 15, 2020

Thousands of pages of documents obtained by ProPublica show how quickly public health agencies were overwhelmed by meatpacking cases. One CEO described social distancing as “a nicety that makes sense only for people with laptops.”

COVID-19

What Happened When Health Officials Wanted to Close a Meatpacking Plant, but the Governor Said No

By Michael Grabell (Pro Publica) | May 9, 2020

New documents obtained by ProPublica show public health officials in Grand Island, Nebraska, wanted the JBS meatpacking plant closed. But Gov. Pete Ricketts said no. Since then, cases have skyrocketed.