Taylor Farms employee reportedly tests positive for COVID-19
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, Calif. (KION) Taylor Farms confirms that an employee at its San Juan Bautista production facility reported that he tested positive for COVID-19 Sunday morning.
The company said the employee is in self-quarantine at home and that other employees who had been in contact with him have been sent home to self-quarantine on paid sick leave.
KION is told that a group of employees decided not to show up to work Monday after hearing rumors of the news over the weekend.
Now, concern is growing among workers and those close to them.
They did not want to go on camera for fear of possible retaliation but told KION the company has not been up front with workers about this situation.
"They do have rights. They are essential; let's not forget that," said Jesus Rangel who is with Teamsters Local Union No. 890, a union that represents food processing workers, including the workers at Taylor Farms in Salinas.
Employees are not under a union contract at the San Juan Bautista Taylor Farms facility, though. It would take more than 50 percent of workers to start the union.
Activists along with family and friends of workers staged a protest outside of the facility Sunday after employees heard rumors of the positive case.
Workers said the company did not give them much information about the case until after they heard rumors on the factory floor.
Three employees allegedly refused to go into work Sunday and had to sign a resignation document, but Taylor Farms would not comment on the allegation.
The group came back Monday to hand out flyers to employees about workers rights. But security came out and they were told to get off of private property.
“As an employee, you want to know what’s going on. you want to make sure that you’re working in a safe environment and that you have good working conditions,” said someone who knows workers in the facility but wanted to remain anonymous. “They are not alone and if they don’t feel safe working, then they shouldn’t have to and their job shouldn’t be jeopardized for that.”
KION spoke with a produce packer who did not want to go on camera but is concerned about possible exposure to the virus on the job because packers work so close to one another.
In a statement to KION, Taylor Farms said, they work "diligently to ensure the health and well-being of our team members with face masks, social distancing procedures, extra sanitation steps and a full pay policy to enable team members who believe they are ill or have been in contact with
someone ill to stay home.” (See full statement below.)
The packer said Taylor Farms is good about sanitizing the areas they work in, but wished the company had been more transparent with them.
Taylor farms is continuing to monitor the situation and San Benito County said they are addressing concerns as well. They will followup on any reported positive tests.
STATEMENT FROM TAYLOR FARMS:
"A team member in the Taylor Farms San Juan Bautista production facility reported Sunday morning that he had tested positive for COVID-19. That individual is currently at home in self-quarantine. Our team performed contact traceback and identified a number of other employees who had been in contact with the individual. We have asked all to self-quarantine at home on paid sick leave. Taylor Farms works diligently to ensure the health and well-being of our team members with face masks, social distancing procedures, extra sanitation steps and a full pay policy to enable team members who believe they are ill or have been in contact with someone ill to stay home. The Taylor Farms team members in San Juan Bautista have been fantastic partners in continuing to produce healthy fresh food to feed their fellow Americans through this pandemic. We will continue to monitor the situation carefully."
"Our employees are our most valued asset and our actions throughout this crisis have been motivated by our desire to keep them employed and healthy. We are working diligently to communicate to an employee base that is working in fields and factories throughout North America that we have implemented an extended paid sick leave program to enable team members who believe they may be ill, or have been in contact with someone who is ill, to stay home and self-quarantine. Out of an abundance of caution, a small number of employees in San Juan Bautista were asked to self-quarantine as a result of our contact traceback efforts."
Taylor Farms
