Critical protections for meatpacking and poultry workers are urgently needed

We are nearly done with all-day hearings! Except for the Judiciary committee, which will wrap up hearings on Friday, March 12th, this will be the last week of all-day committee hearings. Priority bills from senators and committees will be known by March 11th. We are working hard to try to get a number of bills that would support Nebraska families and communities marked by senators or committees as priorities. All-day floor debate begins the week of March 15th, focusing primarily on senators’ priority bills for the session.

While hearings continue, your voice is important in ensuring that we are building a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive Nebraska. Here is how you can safely advocate during hearings, and visit the Unicameral’s website for more information.

Meatpacking and poultry workers need essential protections

On Monday, we testified in front of the Business and Labor Committee to support LB241, which was introduced by Senator Tony Vargas. This critical legislation would protect Nebraska’s meatpacking workers with common-sense and critical COVID-19 protections: 6-foot distancing, sufficient masks, effective screening and quarantine practices, and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance.

You can read our testimony here. We were able to share worker stories about their experiences inside plants during the pandemic in the last couple of months. One worker said:

Read more: https://neappleseed.org/blog/34716