by Kevin Lilly
Tyson Foods plans to resume full pork processing operations at its Logansport plant by Tuesday.
Tyson engineering and maintenance crews, as well as outside contractors, have been working since last weekend to repair damage from the March 5 fire, Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said.
Mickelson called the damage significant.
“While we would rather not provide a dollar estimate, we can tell you roof repairs have been completed, and crews have been busy replacing equipment and doing electrical re-wiring,” Mickelson said.
The plant reportedly has had limited processing operations this week. Some pork from other Tyson plants has been brought in for processing.
But many of the plant’s 1,900 employees have been out of work this week because of the fire.
“We realize the challenges this presents and have encouraged them to consider using vacation time so they can continue to receive pay,” Mickelson said. “Tyson has also chosen to cover the full cost of their health insurance for this week.”
Hundreds of Tyson Foods workers lined up at Ramada Inn Wednesday to register for unemployment benefits.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 700 and Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation coordinated efforts to provide materials on understanding unemployment and a place to log onto the state’s unemployment Web site.
From 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. today, Tyson Foods employees can access the Indiana Department of Workforce Development Web site at Ivy Tech computer labs.
• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.
