Employees at NC Smithfield plant afraid to go to work after co-workers test positive

TAR HEEL, N.C. — Employees at the Smithfield Processing Plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina say they are afraid to go to work after co-workers tested positive for the virus.

The problem is the company won’t say which employees got sick so others aren’t sure if they came in contact with those workers.

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One worker understand privacy concerns, but thinks the secrecy makes it hard for other employees to know who has been exposed.

The Bladen County plant is trying to keep up production. Another employee said plant managers promised workers $500 bonuses at the beginning of April for not calling out.

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“They’re bribing people to come to work,” the employee said. “And, I feel like no one is saying stuff about that. No one is investigating and I’m like that’s crazy. They’re telling you to come to work and everyone else is saying to stay home.”

Workers say they are given personal protective equipment when they come to work each day, but they say it is not possible to do their jobs and keep the 6-foot social distance that has been suggested by health professionals.

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