News Archives
 

December 2007

UFCW Local 1142 OKs new contract with Morrell
Warren Baker, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1142 said his membership ratified a new 54-month contract with John Morrell & Co. on Sunday.  FULL STORY

Beef's Wake-Up Recall

For beef lovers, 2007 will go down as another year of eating dangerously. FULL STORY

Recourse limited for sick QPP workers
After 15 years at Quality Pork Processors, Susan Kruse, 37, was told by her physician that she may never work again due to a neurological syndrome later connected to her job.  FULL STORY

Tyson Perry workers approve labor deal
Workers at the Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. plant in Perry have approved a new multi-year labor agreement, which includes new starting wages and other increases in pay.  FULL STORY

Canada reports another case of BSE

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Tuesday confirmed the diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a 13-year-old beef cow from Alberta.  FULL STORY

A Year after Swift raids, Marshalltown regroups

A sense of fear, mixed with a resilient community spirit, lingers in this town a year after the largest immigration crackdown in U.S. history. FULL STORY

Pilgrim's Pride says CEO Goolsby dies after stroke

Chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride Corp said on Monday that its chief executive officer, O.B. Goolsby Jr., died after suffering a massive stroke on Saturday while on a hunting trip in South Texas.  FULL STORY

Minn Slaughterhouse Workers Fall Ill

On the slaughterhouse floor at Quality Pork Processors Inc. is an area known as the ''head table,'' but not because it is the place of honor. It is where workers cut up pigs' heads and then shoot compressed air into the skulls until the brains come spilling out.  FULL STORY

Union Leader Praises Efforts of QPP Leaders, Nurse

The president of a union representing employees of Quality Pork Processors has praised both the business and the company's nurse for recognizing a pattern of neurological illnesses among QPP employees.  FULL STORY

Meat processors look for ways to keep ground beef safe
The beef industry says it spends upward of $350 million a year to keep harmful pathogens out of its meat. But even as expenditures keep rising, the industry appears to be losing ground.  FULL STORY

Mysterious Illness Affecting Some Quality Pork Workers

Kelly Wadding, Quality Pork Processors president and CEO, speaks to reporters Monday after the Minnesota Department of Health announced it would be investigating a cluster of illnesses in QPP workers.  FULL STORY

QPP Outbreak may be first of CIDP

The outbreak of a mysterious illness that has affected as many as 11 Quality Pork Processors employees over the last year is so rare, it is attracting the attention of neurological disorder experts and national and international foundations. FULL STORY

The Question at Austin Pork Plant: Why?

The wages and overtime Susan Kruse made working for 15 years for Quality Pork Processors helped her support her son, Travis, a ninth-grader. She can hear the evening shift-change whistle from inside the small house she's renovating a block away from the plant. FULL STORY

Rare illness sickens 11 at Austin pork plant
A cluster of workers have developed a neurological illness. Health officials say there is no evidence the public's health is at risk. FULL STORY