Alma Adams Responds to Trump Executive Order

Washington – Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), Vice Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture and Chair of the House Education and Labor Committee's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, responded to President Trump's executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to force meat processing plants to stay open during COVID-19 without adequate protections for workers.

"Where's the beef? President Trump's executive order does nothing to protect workers," said Congresswoman Adams. "Sending employees back to work with no mandatory protections in place to protect them from being exposed to COVID-19 and no recourse to address unsafe work environments threatens the lives of meat processing plant workers, as well as the long-term viability of the food supply chain. Furthermore, giving the Secretary of Agriculture authority to override state health officials makes any safety provisions in President Trump's Executive Order vague at best and unenforceable at worst. Our workforce deserves better: mandatory life-saving PPE to protect against COVID-19, and unprecedented protections for workers. Otherwise, these conditions aren't safe for American workers or consumers."

"Our processing infrastructure is so important for our farmers and for our food system that we must get this right. In order to have a safe and resilient food supply chain through the COVID-19 pandemic, we must ensure that workers have the protections they need," concluded Adams.

Despite promises from the Administration and disturbing reports of unsafe workplaces leading to preventable contraction of COVID-19 and, tragically, deaths, the current executive order does not include strong safety guarantees for workers. It relies on existing weak CDC and OSHA guidance. Earlier this month, Congresswoman Adams introduced the COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act to require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard that establishes a legal obligation for all workplaces to implement infectious disease exposure control plans to keep workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. An exposure control plan for meat processing plants could include social distancing, workstation dividers, provide masks and PPE, and paid sick leave to workers so that potentially contagious employees stay home.

Yesterday, Congresswoman Adams' advocacy on this issue was featured by CNN, Bloomberg, Mashed, and over 30 local affiliates.

Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. has represented North Carolina's 12^th Congressional District (Charlotte) since 2014 and has served on the House Committee on Agriculture since 2015, where she serves as Vice Chair of the committee. Additionally, she has served on the Education & Labor Committee since 2015 and as Chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee since 2019.