Children of Smithfield

05/27/2023

If you or someone you know worked in the ag or meat-packing industry between Jan 20, 2020 and May 11, 2023, you may qualify for a one-time payment of $600.

USDA has contracted with 14 orgs to distribute the money.

Home > Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) Program Farm and Food Workers Relief Program UMOS is proud to offer a one-time $600 payment from the USDA to Farmworkers and Meat Packers who worked during the COVID-19 Pandemic, supporting critical aspects of our nation’s food system. Thank you! This rel...

08/15/2022

Many of you have seen and heard from one of our fearless leaders Maira Mendez. Sadly, her family’s house caught fire yesterday, and they need our support as they manage a difficult journey ahead. We are sharing this GoFundMe page in hopes that some will be able to donate. Anything helps!

Muchos de ustedes han visto y escuchado hablar a una de nuestras líderes valientes Maira Méndez. Lamentablemente, la casa de su familia se incendió ayer y necesitan nuestro apoyo mientras enfrentan un camino difícil. Estamos compartiendo esta página de GoFundMe con la esperanza de que algunos puedan donar. ¡Cualquier aportación ayuda!

Hi, my name is Mark Newmyer, and I'm starting a fundraiser for the family of Salud, Rocio, … Mark Newmyer needs your support for The Mendez Family House Fire

09/09/2021

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, we look at the experiences of meatpacking workers during the pandemic and beyond. Dulce Castañeda, a founding member of Children of Smithfield, a Nebraska-based grassroots advocacy group led by the children and family members of meatpacking workers, says conditions i...

05/09/2021

The Meatpacking Employees COVID-19 Protection Act (LB 241) passed its first-round vote on Thursday thanks to the action of many people!

Please take a moment to email your senator and thank them for supporting LB 241 and common-sense packing plant protections to keep workers and communities safe (or urge their support on the next vote). A short email showing community support makes a big difference! You can email your senator here: https://p2a.co/STbeX5Z

You can find the full vote count for LB 241 here: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_votes.php?KeyID=6942

05/07/2021

LB241, The Meatpacking Employees COVID-19 Protection Act, advanced to Select File this morning. LB241 is a modest, common sense and compassionate proposal that implements low-cost practices that have already been widely adopted across our State.

If we call meatpacking plant workers essential, then we should act to protect their lives. 28 meatpackers have died in NE since the beginning of the pandemic, and there are easy to
implement policies that could have saved their lives. It is time to step up.

Please contact your Senator and encourage them to support LB241 on Select File.

05/06/2021

04/16/2021

"I don't think [the hurt] will ever go away."

In Nebraska, the fight for covid-19 protections for meatpackers is still on

Activists allege that meatpacking facilities in Nebraska are still unsafe for workers, and are fighting to enshrine protections as Nebraska law.

04/07/2021

“Workers, workplace health and safety experts, and labor advocates warn that even after a year of Covid-19, the conditions in many food processing plants — and the pre-pandemic workplace conditions that had already made food processing dangerous work — remain virtually unchanged, exposing workers to the continued risk of contracting a deadly disease in the course of their workday.”

For weeks last spring, as the Covid-19 pandemic spread, the country was gripped by fear of potential food shortages. As speculation arose about widespread meat shortages…

04/01/2021

"They made him go to work and two days later he died of COVID."

Contact your senator and ask them to support LB 241 for protections for meat and poultry workers from COVID-19: https://p2a.co/STbeX5Z