Four Tyson workers injured at Iowa processing plant

Four Tyson Foods workers were injured last Monday morning at a pork processing plant in Perry, Iowa.

Photo courtesy of Tyson Foods
Photo courtesy of Tyson Foods

Four Tyson Foods workers were injured December 4 at a pork processing plant in Perry, Iowa.

According to the Springdale-based company, two workers were hospitalized, while the other two were treated at the plant by health professionals affiliated with the meatpacker. The accident occurred around 11:40 a.m. The two hospitalized workers were flown to the burn center at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa.

Reporters at the scene said two of the employees were severely injured with burns to their faces, heads and upper torsos. Shortly after, the workers were flown to a burn treatment center in Iowa City.

Fire trucks were not called to the scene. Sheriff Chad Leonard of Dallas County said the incident involved a pressurized steam line. The company said the incident happened at the byproduct rendering area in the plant.

Caroline Ahn, manager of external communications with Tyson Foods said, “We’re grateful for the swift response and assistance of local emergency personnel,” when asked for comments regarding the accident.

Not the first employee issue in an Iowa plant

A 10-year-old lawsuit between Tyson Foods and workers at its pork plant located in Storm Lake, Iowa, was settled in August of this year.

The employees sued the company for the time they spent putting on and taking over their safety uniforms before and after shifts. The almost 3,900 employees, both past and present, will be given about $1,700 dollars apiece, a company spokesman said.

The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court rejected the company's approach at limiting employees' say in challenging pay and workplace problems. Supreme Court justices voted 6-2 against the new limits that Tyson requested be imposed on its workers’ ability to group together to challenge pay and other issues in the workplace.

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