This article ran as the Editorial in the March issue of Meatingplace magazine:

As of press time in mid-February, amidst the nationwide rollout of COVID-19 vaccines that began two months earlier, meat companies were reporting some sizable distribution of doses to their workforces. Such was the eventual result of their rightful push on government authorities to include meat workers among the first to get their shots.

It hasn’t been as simple as that, of course (p. 26). A patchwork, state-by-state administration of the vaccine distribution and competing plans have caused some complications, which have been particularly burdensome for large packers whose footprints span multiple states. Skepticism about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines has been a hurdle, too, in the effort.

And while discussion of the root causes of those complications often turn political, it’s clear that the industry is working through all the noise and turning challenges into opportunities. Among those is the generation of goodwill with workers who, in many cases, have been more inclined to find other places to be during the pandemic than a meat plant.

A year since the pandemic began, meat processors are, by now, battle-tested in overcoming the impacts of COVID-19, and largely unfettered in their mission to feed people across the country. Without the helping hands of their workers, that wouldn’t be possible. The vaccine rollout could be a galvanizing experience in keeping them on the line.

The industry got a good start in convincing federal officials that meat workers are right up there with healthcare workers in terms of the importance of their function. Sure, employers are protecting their interests in maintaining production levels and profits, but their actions also were, at least, an implicit expression of care for the people carrying out the mission.

The increasing delivery of those vaccines at plants across the country sends a strong signal, too, that such actions have something meaningful to show for them.

But the work isn’t done. Any goodwill that has grown in an internal team effort to protect each other’s health and welfare for the benefit of the business has some external forces and factors working against it. Whether the result of a heated political climate and development process, a variation in rollout plans by state, or even just a bad experience at a doctor’s office, some portion of workers are at least confused from mixed messages, if not outright distrustful of the efficacy and safety of the vaccines.

Bonuses, as some companies are offering, are one way to help incentivize. But nuances in communication and education with facts will likely be more productive over the long run. Explaining the “why” will be key. That means emphasizing not only the purpose of receiving the vaccine for personal health and continued gainful employment, but also the potential consequences of not getting it — namely, the impact it could have on their households.

Labor was, is, and will be a challenge for the industry before, during and after COVID-19. The pandemic has served to exacerbate that challenge, among others, but it also has presented opportunities for improvements. Here could be an opportunity to give employer-employee relations a boost.

A shot in the arm

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