Skip to content
ProPublica Donate
ProPublica Donate
Labor

On the Line

How the Meatpacking Industry Became a Hotbed of COVID-19

ProPublica investigates how big meat companies pushed to keep their plants running even as their workers, and the communities they lived in, became among the hardest hit by the pandemic — and how the government failed to stop them.

Impact of Our Reporting
Caret

On the Line

After Hundreds of Meatpacking Workers Died From COVID-19, Congress Wants Answers

A key House subcommittee cited reports by ProPublica and other news outlets in launching an investigation into how the country’s meatpacking companies handled the pandemic, which has killed hundreds of workers to date.

12 stories published since 2020

The Plot to Keep Meatpacking Plants Open During COVID-19

How the History of Waterloo, Iowa, Explains How Meatpacking Plants Became Hotbeds of COVID-19

As COVID-19 Ravaged This Iowa City, Officials Discovered Meatpacking Executives Were the Ones in Charge

Correos electrónicos muestran que la industria empacadora de carnes redactó el borrador de una orden ejecutiva para que las plantas permanecieran abiertas

Emails Show the Meatpacking Industry Drafted an Executive Order to Keep Plants Open

Las empresas empacadoras de carne ignoraron las advertencias durante años, pero ahora dicen que nadie habría podido prepararse para COVID-19

Meatpacking Companies Dismissed Years of Warnings but Now Say Nobody Could Have Prepared for COVID-19

They Warned OSHA They Were in “Imminent Danger” at the Meat Plant. Now They’re Suing the Agency.

Emails Reveal Chaos as Meatpacking Companies Fought Health Agencies Over COVID-19 Outbreaks in Their Plants

What Happened When Health Officials Wanted to Close a Meatpacking Plant, but the Governor Said No

¿Qué sucedería si se enferman los empleados que cortan las carnes del país?

What Happens If Workers Cutting Up the Nation’s Meat Get Sick?

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

Most Read

    Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDA’s Gamble on America’s Drugs

    A ProPublica investigation found that for more than a decade, the FDA gave substandard factories banned from the United States a special pass to keep sending drugs to an unsuspecting public.

    Federal Judge Deems Trump Administration’s Termination of NIH Grants Illegal

    In a ruling issued Monday, the judge called the government’s directives “arbitrary and capricious” and ordered funding for some of the NIH grants, including many profiled by ProPublica in recent months, to be restored.

    We Spent a Year Investigating How the FDA Let Risky Drugs Into the U.S. Market

    Our investigation exposed a little-known practice inside the FDA that allowed more than 150 drugs or their ingredients into the U.S. over the past dozen years even though they were made at factories banned from shipping their products here.

    100 Students in a School Meant for 1,000: Inside Chicago’s Refusal to Deal With Its Nearly Empty Schools

    Declining school enrollment has left 30% of Chicago public schools at least half-empty. The city’s failure to address this problem has come at a high cost to the district — and its students.

    “The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention

    One year out of college and with no apparent national security expertise, Thomas Fugate is the Department of Homeland Security official tasked with overseeing the government’s main hub for combating violent extremism.