News & Updates from across the RWDSU…
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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.
“What we’ve learned today is that Tyson Foods was in fact at fault for our member’s near life ending injuries, but a worker's life can never be monetarily valued, and it certainly cannot be valued at a few thousand dollars. OSHA’s decision to issue only modest fines in the wake of the devastating boiler explosion at Tyson’s Camilla, Georgia poultry plant is the true embodiment of a broken system that lacks the teeth to protect workers….
Overnight, there was an explosion at Tyson’s Camilla, Georgia poultry plant represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Stuart Appelbaum, President of the RWDSU, which represents over 15,000 poultry workers at facilities across the southern United States and Edgar Fields, President of the Southeast Council of the RWDSU, issued the following joint statement:
Tonight, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) endorsed Stacey Abrams for Governor. The RWDSU was an early and strong supporter of Stacey Abrams’ 2018 campaign, mobilizing members throughout the state to back her groundbreaking campaign that put economic justice, fair wages and opportunities for all Georgians at the forefront. The RWDSU’s Southeast Council includes 10,000 members, many of whom door-knocked, rallied, and phone banked in support of Abrams’ 2018 bid, and she will have the union’s full support again in this election.
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