CO
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FROM KETK NEWS YOU'RE
WATCHING "EAST TEXAS LIVE."
Cynthia: WELCOME BACK TO
KETK'S "EAST TEXAS LIVE."
WHEN YOU HEAD TO THE GROCERY
STORE RIGHT NOW, YOU MIGHT STILL
BE LIMITED ON THE AMOUNT MEAT
YOU CAN BUY.
BEHIND THE SCENES THERE ARE
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WORKING IN
MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING
PLANTS FACILITIES AND INCLUDING
RIGHT HERE IN EAST TEXAS.
JOINING ME WITH HOW THEY'RE
DEALING WITH THE CORONAVIRUS
PANDEMIC, IS NOEL THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR JOINING US.
GOOD MORNING.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
A LOT OF QUESTIONS PEOPLE
HAVE RIGHT NOW IS THE FOOD
SUPPLY STABLE, ESPECIALLY FOR
THE MEAT AND POULTRY INDUSTRY?
I FIRST WANT TO START BY
GIVING A HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO
OUR TYSON FAMILY TEAM MEMBERS
WHO HAVE DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB
PUTTING FOOD ON TABLES ACROSS
THE COUNTRY THROUGHOUT THIS
GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY HAS BEEN
THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR
TEAM MEMBERS, THEIR FAMILIES AND
OUR COMMUNITIES, WHICH IS WHY WE
PUT IN SAFEGUARDS AND GUIDELINES
IN ORDER TO MEET OR EXCEED CDC
OR OSHA GUIDANCE.
AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION
SPECIFICALLY, I WOULD SAY
THERE'S SAMPLE SUPPLY THAT WE
HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF
FOCUS ON ENSURING THAT WE ARE
MA
MAXIZING CAPACITY IN ORDER TO
MEET CONSUMER DEMAND, THAT IT
ALL GOES BACK, LIKE I SAID, TO
TEAM MEMBER SAFETY.
Cynthia: ABSOLUTELY.
IF YOU CAN TELL US SOME OF THE
SAFEGUARDS YOUR PLANT IS TAKING
AND WHAT IS THE PRIMARY OF
TYSON'S RESPONSE?
OUR PLANTS AND OUR OPERATIONS
HAVE TRANSFORMED.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT COMING TO
LIFE.
AS YOU ENTER OUR FACILITIES, IF
YOU HAVE SPENT TIME IN OUR
FACILITIES.
AND I'VE EXPERIENCED THIS FIRST
HAND AS I'VE SPENT TIME WITH OUR
FRONT LINE TEAM MEMBERS.
AND AS YOU GO INTO OUR
FACILITIES YOU GO THROUGH A
STATE OF ART THERMAL TEMPERATURE
SCAN.
AND A SYMPTOMS SCREENING.
IF SOMEONE IS UNREST, THEY'LL GO
HOME.
AND MASKS AND FACE SHIELDS
BARRIERS AS WELL AS MARKINGS ON
THE FLOOR FOR THE APPROPRIATE
SOCIAL DISTANCING.
WE HAVE SOCIAL DISTANCING
MONITORS TO ENSURE THAT OUR TEAM
MEMBERS ARE FOLLOWING THE
GUIDELINES.
AND WE ALSO ENSURED THAT WE'RE
TAPPING INTO EXTERNAL EXPERTISE.
AND WE'RE PARTNERING WITH A
COMPANY CALLED MAJOR MEDICAL,
WHO IS A LEADING HEALTH CLINIC
PROVIDER FOR MOBILE ON SITE
SUPPORT AS WELL AS ADVANCED
TESTING CAPABILITIES.
Cynthia: NOW ARE YOU TESTING
ALL EMPLOYEES OF EVERY FACILITY
IN THE U.S.?
RIGHT NOW WE'RE FOCUSED ON
ENSURING THAT WE ARE TESTING IN
AREAS WHERE THERE'S HIGH RISK.
AND THAT'S DETERMINED ON CLOSE
COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL HEALTH
OFFI
OFFICIALS.
AS WELL AS WE LOOK A LOT OF
INFORMATION AND DATA IN ORDER TO
ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A CLEAR
UNDERSTANDING AND ASSESSMENT OF
THE RISK LEVELS IN LOCAL
COMMUNITIES SO WE WANT TO ENSURE
THAT AS WE GO TO TEST, WHERE WE
SEE THE HIGHER LEVEL OF RISK
THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THAT AS AN
OPPORTUNITY TO ENSURE THAT WE
PROVIDE BOTH SICK INFORMATION
AND DATA TO OUR TEAM MEMBERS,
BUT ALSO PARTNERING WITH THE
COMMUNITIES, AND SHARING THAT
INFORMATION.
WE'RE ONE OF THE ONLY COMPANIES
DOING SO FROM TESTING AND
DISCLOSURE PERSPECTIVE.
IN DOING SO, THE INTENTION IS TO
MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SHARING
INFORMATION ABOUT THE BEST
PRACTICES THAT WE CAN BE TAKING
WITHIN OUR FACILITIES TO ALSO
OUR TEAM MEMBERS HOMES AND
THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITIES.
SO IN PLANTS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN
SHERMAN, WHERE 20% AT LEAST OF
THE EMPLOYEES THERE HAVE TESTED
POSITIVE, THEN DO YOU TAKE
ACTION AND TEST EVERY EMPLOYEE
THERE?
IT AGAIN GOES BACK TO LOCAL
BY LOCAL DECISION.
BUT, YES, IF WE DO SEE WHERE
THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF
COMMUNITY SPREAD OR SIGNIFICANT
RISK WITHIN OUR PLANTS AND WE DO
MOVE FORWARD WITH LARGE SCALE
TESTING.
AND WE SEE THAT AS REALLY
CRITICAL IMPORTANT ASPECT OF
TOOL IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT
WE'RE PROVIDING OUR TEAM MEMBERS
INFORMATION AND DOING EVERYTHING
POSSIBLE TO KEEP THEM SAFE.
NOW, KNNO WE'LL, LET'S BRING IT
BACK TO OUR AREA, IN EAST TEXAS.
TWO ONE IN CENTER AND ONE IN
CARTHAGE.
WE'VE BEEN TOLD THERE ARE CASE
AS THE PLANS BUT NOBODY IS
RELEASING THE NUMBERS, THE
SPECIFICS.
ABOUT HOW MANY TESTS HAVE BEEN
MADE.
WHY IS THAT?
WE ACTUALLY WILL BE
DISCLOSING ALL OF OUR TEST
RESULTS IN PARTNERSHIP AND
COLLABORATION WITH THE LOCAL
HEALTH OFFICIALS.
LIKE I SAID, WE FIND THAT IS A
REALLY IMPORTANT STEP IN ORDER
TO ENSURE WE'RE BEING
TRANSPARENT, THAT WE'RE SHARING
INFORMATION AND DOING EVERYTHING
WE CAN TO PARTNER WITH OUR LOCAL
COMMUNITIES IN HOPES OF SLOWING
DOWN THIS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT
CHALLENGING VIRUS.
I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE DO
APPRECIATE TRANSPARENCY FROM
LARGE PLANTS LIKE YOURS AT
TYSON.
SOME CRITICS SAY TYSON WAS TOO
SLOW TO REACT TO THE VIRUS.
WHICH COULD'VE LED TO THE
OUTBREAKS AT SOME OF YOUR
PLANTS.
WHY DIDN'T TYSON WORK FASTER TO
SLOW THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS
AROUND YOUR WORKERS?
WE STARTED OUR CORONAVIRUS
TASK FORCE IN JANUARY.
AND SINCE THAT POINT IN TIME, WE
WERE ONE OF THE FIRST COMPANIES
THAT REQUIRED FACE MASKS TO OUR
TEAM MEMBERS.
AND WEARING THEM WITHIN OUR
FACILITIES, EVEN BEFORE THE CDC
REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE CAME
OUT TO DO SO.
WE WERE ONE OF THE FIRST
COMPANIES TO PROVIDE TEMPERATURE
SCANNING FOR TEAM MEMBERS OR
ANYONE ENTERING IN OUR
FACILITIES.
SO WE'VE TRIED TO ENSURE THAT
WE'RE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THIS
EVER EVOLVING SITUATION OF
TAKING THE LEARNINGS AND
MEMBERS SAFE.
Cynthia: NOW KETK NEWS HAS
LEARNED THAT TYSON HAS A POINT
SYSTEM THAT PUNISHES WORKERS FOR
MISSING SHIFTS.
CRITICS SAY SOME FEAR GOING TO
MAKE PEOPLE SICK OR SPREAD THE
VIRUS.
WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THOSE
CRITICS?
I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT IF
ANY TEAM MEMBERS ARE FEELING
SICK OR HAVE SYMPTOMS, THAT THEY
SHOULD STAY HOME AND REST AND
ASSOCIATED WITH DOING SO.
AS YOU LOOK ACROSS OUR
FACILITIES, WE HAVE A MAJORITY
OF OUR FACILITIES THAT DO NOT
HAVE ANY ACTIVE COVID-19 CASES.
AND IT GOES BACK TO ENSURING
THAT WE'RE TAKING CARE OF OUR
TEAM MEMBERS, THAT OUR TEAM
MEMBERS ARE NOT FEELING WELL,
THAT THEY STAY HOME.
NOW, DO YOU HAVE ANY BENEFITS
OR PAID LEAVE OR ANYTHING LIKE
THAT FOR ANYBODY WHO DOES
CONTRACT COVID-19 ON THE JOB AT
TYSON?
YES.
FOR ANYONE WHO DOES HAVE
SYMPTOMS OR CONTRACTS THE
COVID-19 VIRUS, THERE ARE PAID
MEDICAL LEAVE BENEFITS FOR THOSE
TEAM MEMBERS.
ARE YOU REQUIRING ANY TIME
QUARANTINED?
YOU KNOW SOME OF THE CASES IN
SHERMAN WERE REPORTED JUST LAST
WEEK.
THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE.
BUT I KNOW THE CDC TYPICALLY IS
CALLING FOR A TWO WEEK
QUARANTINE.
ARE YOU ALLOWING THAT?
YES.
ABSOLUTELY.
W WANT TO ENSURE THAT TEAM
MEMBERS, IF THEY DO CONTRACT THE
VIRUS, THAT AFTER THEY ARE WELL,
THAT THEY STAY HOME THROUGH THAT
TIME PERIOD IN ORDER TO ENSURE
THAT THEY'RE NOT ONLY MEETING
OUR OWN TYSON POLICIES BUT ALSO
MEETING THE CDC GUIDANCE.
SO YES.
Cynthia: LAST QUESTION,
NO
NOELLE.
HOW CAN CONSUMERS ENSURE THAT
PRODUCTS FROM TYSON ARE SAFE
RIGHT NOW FROM EVERYTHING GOING
ON?
I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT THERE
HAS BEEN ANY EVIDENCE OF ANY
RISK OF THE VIRUS TRANSMITTING
THROUGH FOOD.
WHICH IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT
FOR CONSUMERS TO UNDERSTAND AND
KNOW.
AND WITH THAT, I ALSO JUST WANT
TO REITERATE, OUR NUMBER ONE
PRIORITY IS ENSURING THE HEALTH
AND SAFETY OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS,
THEIR FAMILIES, AND OUR
COMMUNITY.
Cynthia: THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING,