Tyson Workers Protest ‘Poor’ Treatment at Closing Van Buren Plant

By Rachell Sanchez-Smith

Published May 4, 2023 at 3:01 PM CDT

Workers at the Tyson Plant in Van Buren posted signs in front of the processing facility where they were striking the "unfair" and "poor" treatment after being notified about the plant closing.

This story was produced in partnership with Facing South, the online magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies.

Employees at a Tyson Foods poultry processing plant in Van Buren went on strike for a week last month, claiming the business was mishandling their severance and endangering their health and safety — and is now “throwing the heroes away” after lauding their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Olivia Paschal, the archives editor with Facing South and a doctoral student in history at the University of Virginia, contributed to this report. Matthew Moore helped edit this piece.