OSHA Let Tyson Off Easy. RWDSU Isn’t Backing Down.
In the early hours of December 26, 2024, a gas line to a boiler exploded at Tyson Foods’ poultry plant in Camilla, Georgia. The plant, where workers are represented by the RWDSU Southeast Council, quickly filled with smoke and confusion as the emergency unfolded. Two RWDSU members were severely injured in the blast, suffering life-altering harm. The explosion was sudden, but the danger was not. More than six-months later we learned this was a preventable tragedy, caused by Tyson’s failure to follow critical safety protocols.
In the Christmas holiday emergency, RWDSU was on the ground immediately. As first responders worked to stabilize the situation, union representatives arrived to ensure members had support, information, resources, and importantly, advocacy. RWDSU Southeast Council representatives provided emergency assistance, coordinated services, and stood with our injured member’s families in the critical hours that followed.
Our role was clear: to protect our members, to demand answers, and to ensure no worker faced this crisis alone. We issued a statement that garnered international attention on the matter, urging swift investigation and adjudication of the incident – and the media kept a watchful eye as did local elected officials in the weeks that followed. The facility reopened in phases as it was safe to do so, with the union in lock-step, pushing for workers to be provided backpay and added safety equipment.
More than six-months later, OSHA’s findings confirmed what RWDSU and our members already knew: Tyson was at fault. The agency’s investigation concluded that the company failed to follow basic safety protocols. But instead of delivering meaningful accountability, OSHA issued a fine totaling just over $16 thousand dollars.
“RWDSU members at the Camilla facility and across the poultry industry deserve real safety protections, real enforcement, and real respect for their lives and labor. We demand stronger standards to prevent future tragedies, timely investigations and real penalties that match the scale of the harm done,” said Edgar Fields, Vice President of the RWDSU and President of the RWDSU Southeast Council, which represents the workers at the facility.
Let’s be clear: no amount of money can undo the trauma our injured members have experienced. But a few thousand dollars doesn’t even begin to reflect the seriousness of Tyson’s violations. That amount isn’t justice – it’s an insult. It sends a message to corporations that worker safety is optional and that consequences for failure are negligible at best.
This is exactly why having a union matters.
It was our union that ensured this explosion wasn’t swept under the rug. And it was our union that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with workers from the moment the explosion happened, making sure everyone had support, services, and a voice.
The weakness of OSHA’s response is more than a bureaucratic failure – it’s a failure of principle. It tells workers that their lives can be devalued, and that corporate negligence is tolerable. The RWDSU refuses to accept that. We continue to demand real accountability from Tyson and real reform of OSHA.
No one should go to work wondering if they’ll make it home safely. And no company should be allowed to gamble with workers’ lives without consequence. RWDSU will keep fighting, on the shop floor, in the public eye, and in every regulatory office to ensure that justice isn’t just promised, but delivered.
Because workers deserve better. And we won’t stop until we get it.