Today (July 29, 2020), the Legislature debated a motion to suspend the rules to enable a Senator to bring a new bill despite the rule that bills to be considered in this Session are allowed to be introduced in the first ten days of Session, which was in January. The motion was brought by Senator Vargas but failed to get the required 30 votes needed. I voted against the motion, which is consistent with my vote on the same motion brought by a different Senator last week. Senator Vargas wanted to bring a new bill regarding meatpacking plants.

While I understand Senator Vargas’s intentions, there is simply not enough time to thoroughly investigate, process, and work through any new bill. Especially on this topic. As I stated last week, every bill that is introduced is required to have a public hearing before it can reach the floor for debate. The people most likely to be affected by any bill deserve opportunity to be heard, including the workers in District 17. this should necessarily include people in District 17.

District 17 is the home of the largest Tyson Foods plant in Nebraska, employing approximately 4,500 workers. The Legislature is in its last ten (10) days of the 2020 Session. The earliest that Senator Vargas can hold a hearing on any new bill would be next Thursday, August 6, 2020. That does NOT give sufficient time for residents of District 17 to shuffle schedules or to arrange to take off of work to travel to Lincoln for a hearing. Nor should they have to.

The Legislative Resolution filed by Senator Vargas (LR459) for an interim study to review the effects of COVID-19 on the safety of workers in Nebraska is a wiser and more practical approach to this issue. In an interim study, rather than requiring people wanting to be heard, members of one or more Legislative committees can travel to them. I am looking forward to attending listening sessions in District 17 to hear from workers and processors alike.

I will note that prior to the debate on this motion, I had not heard from a single meatpacking worker with concerns about the plant in District 17. I did speak with the Governor at an early point in the pandemic and testing was conducted in Dakota City a number of times. The Governor also initiated presenting his press conferences in Spanish on a regular basis and provided documents in a number of languages to make sure nearly all, if not all, of those working in the plants were made aware of the ways to stop the spread of COVID-19. I also contacted Tyson Foods to make sure they were exercising best practices to look out for workers at the plant.

I also received a copy of Tyson’s commitment to its workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like other meat processing plants, Tyson relies upon its employees to help them perform an important part of feeding America. It is committed to working to keep them safe and healthy.

Dakota County had a large number of positive cases of the virus reported when intensive testing was initiated in the area. It is comforting to see the number of positive cases steadily decline. I credit residents and businesses in District 17 that have worked hard to stop the spread of COVID-19 through frequent hand-washing, social distancing, and other recommendations of the Governor and the Nebraska Department of Health. It is true that even one death is too many and my heart goes out to the families and friends throughout the State who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. Together we can continue to serve the needs and preserve the safety of District 17 workers and residents by TAKING enough time to really listen. Again, I look forward to hearing from my neighbors at the listening sessions that will take place on the issue.

As always, I invite you to contact my office by phone 402.471.2716 or by email at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov