Rachel Axon, USA TODAY

OSHA faults pork plant for failing to protect workers from COVID-19, but issues no fines

An OSHA inspection into Triumph Foods confirms much of what USA TODAY and the Midwest Center found last year in an investigation of the company.

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest and Rachel Axon, USA TODAY

/ 11 Mar 2021

OSHA faults pork plant for failing to protect workers from COVID-19, but issues no fines

COVID-19 deaths go uninvestigated as OSHA takes a hands-off approach to meatpacking plants

OSHA has not inspected 26 out of the 65 meatpacking plants where reporters found at least one worker died of COVID-19.

By kyle-bagenstose-and-rachel-axon-usa-today-sky-chadde-midwest-center-for-investigative-reporting, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY, Rachel Axon, USA TODAY and Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest

/ 12 Jan 2021

COVID-19 deaths go uninvestigated as OSHA takes a hands-off approach to meatpacking plants

Plagued by COVID outbreaks, the meatpacking industry could be forced to change under Biden

While president-elect Joe Biden has not announced any specific plans to protect meatpacking workers, advocates believe there are things he could, and should, do.

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest, Rachel Axon, USA TODAY and Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY

/ 20 Nov 2020

Plagued by COVID outbreaks, the meatpacking industry could be forced to change under Biden

'They think workers are like dogs.' How pork plant execs sacrificed safety for profits.

USA TODAY and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting spent five months piecing together the pivotal moments in the Triumph Foods outbreak, interviewing more than a dozen current and former workers and examining thousands of pages of government records.

By Rachel Axon, USA TODAY, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY, Kevin Crowe, USA TODAY and Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest

/ 11 Nov 2020

'They think workers are like dogs.' How pork plant execs sacrificed safety for profits.

A week before Trump's order protecting meat plants, industry sent draft language to feds

Even as thousands of their employees fell ill with COVID-19, meatpacking executives pressured federal regulators to help keep their plants open, according to a trove of emails obtained by USA TODAY and The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY and Rachel Axon, USA TODAY

/ 14 Sep 2020

A week before Trump's order protecting meat plants, industry sent draft language to feds

‘All smoke and mirrors’: How Trump’s meatpacking order has failed to keep workers safe

Since the executive order, COVID-19 cases tied to meatpacking plants have skyrocketed from fewer than 5,000 at the time to more than 25,000 as of this week, according to tracking from the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. Rather than protecting workers, a half dozen experts and advocates s

By rachel-axon-usa-today-sky-chadde-midwest-center-for-investigative-reporting, Rachel Axon, USA TODAY and Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest

/ 18 Jun 2020

‘All smoke and mirrors’: How Trump’s meatpacking order has failed to keep workers safe

Coronavirus outbreaks climb at U.S. meatpacking plants despite protections, Trump order

Coronavirus outbreaks at U.S. meatpacking plants continue to soar as the beleaguered industry ramps up production, scales back plant closures and tries to return to normal in the weeks after President Donald Trump declared it an essential operation.

By rachel-axon-kyle-bagenstose-usa-today-sky-chadde-midwest-center-for-investigative-reporting, Rachel Axon, USA TODAY, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY and Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest

/ 6 Jun 2020

Coronavirus outbreaks climb at U.S. meatpacking plants despite protections, Trump order

Cheap chicken, beef came at a cost. How American meat plants bred coronavirus hot spots.

The meatpacking industry has evolved into a marvel of modern efficiency, producing 105 billion pounds annually of poultry, pork, beef and lamb destined for dinner tables across America and the world. That’s nearly double what it produced three decades ago. But its evolution came at a cost. The same

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY, Veronica Martinez Jacobo, USA TODAY and Rachel Axon, USA TODAY

/ 22 May 2020