"A toxic gas concentration developed in the bottom floor of the plant at some point before day shift's starting time. A worker, Luisa Páramo passed out from exposure to the fumes and was taken to the hospital," reported the January 23 Workers' Voice, the newsletter produced by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789. The newsletter is distributed to workers at Dakota and at Long Prairie Packing, another slaughterhouse owned by Rosen's Diversified, Inc.

Workers at Dakota voted 112–71 last July to join Local 789 after a seven-week organizing drive that began with a sit-down strike to protest conditions in the plant, especially the increase in line speed. The company has so far refused to recognize the union, even though the National Labor Relations Board dismissed its objections to the election and certified the union representation vote.

Jim Garnett, a trimmer in the boning department and a member of the union's Communications Committee at Dakota, said he was near Páramo on January 22 and saw her pass out. He said he smelled "a strong smell of bleach, like gas. The smell was so strong it made my eyes burn," Garnett said. "It was enough to make me feel dizzy, and it felt hard to breathe." Garnett said he was worried that it was some type of gas leak, having experienced a chlorine gas leak at a previous job at another meatpacking plant.

"If you've got a gas leak, you can see people drop like flies," Garnett said. "Apparently the supervisors didn't realize how strong the smell was or that the lady [Páramo] was sick." Garnett said he yelled "Gas!" and started getting co-workers outside. He ran to the security guard and told him to dial 911 and get an ambulance for the sick worker.

Páramo vomited repeatedly after regaining consciousness outside the plant. After being examined at the hospital, she was brought back to the plant by her supervisor and sent to work on the line, reported Amy Roberts, a boning worker and member of the union's Communications Committee, who works on the same line.

"I was confused," Páramo told the Workers' Voice. "I still felt dizzy and at times I saw double. I tried to have some soup at lunchtime, but I vomited again. When I came back from lunch my hands were 'freezing' and I told the 'yellow hat' [lead person] that I could not continue working." Páramo was finally sent home sick and was out for four days. By the end of the week, the company still hadn't informed workers of the cause of the fumes or Páramo's illness. Some workers were angry about the potential danger of the fumes.

"It was wrong how they treated Luisa and others that might have gotten seriously sick from the chemicals," said Celia Grande, a worker with three years in the packaging department. "The company doesn't care for our safety."

Kenny, a worker with 19 years in the packaging department, said that the company has never had an alarm system for evacuation. "They have to start having drills for us in case of fires so everyone knows what to do and to prevent anyone from getting injured," he said.

"We need to have a group of people who can respond in an emergency," Garnett said. He proposed the company organize emergency evacuation drills and safety training, including on the chemicals that are used every day in the plant.

A month earlier, when a fire broke out on the kill side of the plant, the evacuation process was chaotic, with workers, some in their shirtsleeves and soaking wet, standing outside in subzero weather while the bosses figured out how to respond. Workers were first herded into the adjacent stockyard, then across the street into several bars, where they spent the afternoon while the fire was extinguished and the area inspected. "There seems to be a general apathy on the part of management," Garnett commented.

After consulting with the Dakota workers who make up Local 789's Communications Committee, the local's president, Bill Pearson, filed a formal complaint with the government's Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA). The agency is obliged to investigate, said Local 789 union representative Francisco Picado.

Rose Ana Berbeo is a meat packer.  
 
 
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