Milan, Premium Standard Farms Embrace Diversity
by Tommy Baca
I work at Premium Standard Farms in Milan.
I feel blessed to be working where I am today, but I can’t forget what
has allowed me to be here. I came here from Tularosa, N.M., 2½ years
ago.
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Tommy Baca is Communications and Public
Affairs Manager for Premium Standard Farms in Milan, Missouri. This
column was written in response to an earlier article by Ken Midkiff, a
columnist for the Columbia, Missouri Tribune,
and was originally published in the Tribune on January 29, 2002.
Columbia is located in central Missouri, several hours drive from most
PSF operations.
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My wife and I grew up in a rural
area where good jobs were hard to find. My parents have worked hard
under difficult circumstances - as many people do - to provide me the
opportunity to have it easier than they did.
I’m proud to know anyone
committed to such ideals. Like the rest of our 2,400 employees, I saw
Premium Standard Farms as an opportunity.
I was hired to help the
company and community manage the challenges of a multicultural work
force. I’ve been impressed by the commitment of both the company and
the city of Milan to embrace diversity and to view the changes taking
place as opportunities for community and cultural growth.
I’m not saying there
haven’t been problems. Anytime you bring 900 new jobs to a community
and introduce a new culture, there are going to be challenges.
But what has impressed me is
the attitude of city leaders and company managers. Milan is a city that
has embraced the change that comes with a new culture and new
residents, and Premium Standard Farms is a company that recognizes our
responsibility to help make that change positive. We support community
initiatives to improve the quality of life in our area, and in turn the
community welcomes our new employees.
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| PSF's Tommy Baca |
A cultural and economic
infrastructure has emerged to help support newcomers. We have grocery
stores that cater to Latino clientele, and there is a new Latino
Community Center that I’m proud to help serve by being on the board of
directors. As we continue to grow, we are stretching the local
infrastructure. We know there is a need for new housing and that
recreation and education opportunities need to be enhanced. Our
response to that need was to hire a manager of community development.
Jason Helton, the former Gallatin city manager, recently joined our
team to help us support community efforts to meet these needs.
In his recent column, Ken
Midkiff makes a number of inaccurate charges about PSF and the meat
industry. First, his claim of "measly" wages is bogus. The average
annual salary of our hourly workers - not management - not
including bonuses or benefits, is greater than the median household
income in the area. Between 1990 and 1999, per capita income in
Sullivan County increased by 72.8 percent.
A big contributor to that
increase is our processing facility in Milan. The benefits we offer
have helped sustain and develop local health-care options, and the
bonus program and 401K savings plan help provide additional financial
security.
The death of Jose Hernandez
in our plant last May was a terrible tragedy. Everyone in the
organization was deeply saddened. Our management team worked hard,
though, to make sure the emotional and physical needs of his family and
our work force were met immediately. We provided transportation and
accommodations for his family living out of the area, and we provided
immediate financial assistance for his wife and children in Mexico. In
addition to the immediate help, his wife will receive $300 a week, tax
free, for the rest of her life.
This fatality was all the
more troubling because of the outstanding safety record of Premium
Standard Farms. We are consistently among the safest meat processing
plants in the country. We have been operating in Missouri for more than
10 years, and we now have nearly 4,000 employees nationwide.
Jose’s death was the first work-related fatality in company history. It was a tragedy we hope never to repeat.
Midkiff criticized the $9,450
in penalties levied by OSHA as "minuscule." His premise that the
penalties should be tied to the loss of life trivializes the death of
Jose Hernandez.
 |
| Looking up the hill on East Third Street, Milan, Missouri, January 2002. |
No amount of money will ever
replace a human life. Larger penalties won’t provide a husband to his
wife or a father to his children. The penalties were tied to the safety
record of our company and the work we do to help ensure a safe work
place for all employees. Midkiff’s claim that "all the widow received
from the company was his body" is an insult to all of us who work to
make safety a part of our culture.
Throwing stones from
Columbia is easy. Working to make a better life for your family and
helping build strong multicultural rural communities take real effort
and real character.
Is the work hard? Absolutely.
Are there challenges in creating a multicultural community? Of course.
I admire the character of our
workers, many of whom demonstrate tremendous courage in moving away
from family and friends to a strange place with a strange language to
make a better life for their family. I also admire the people of Milan,
who have welcomed new citizens to our community. Together we hope to
build a stronger multicultural community with opportunity and reward
for everyone.
Unlike Midkiff, many in
north Missouri view hard work, solid wages and benefits, and a
welcoming community as an opportunity to live the American dream, just
like the millions of immigrants who came before us and helped make this
the greatest country in the world.
My wife and I grew up in a rural
area where good jobs were hard to find. My parents have worked hard
under difficult circumstances - as many people do - to provide me the
opportunity to have it easier than they did.
I’m proud to know anyone
committed to such ideals. Like the rest of our 2,400 employees, I saw
Premium Standard Farms as an opportunity.
I was hired to help the
company and community manage the challenges of a multicultural work
force. I’ve been impressed by the commitment of both the company and
the city of Milan to embrace diversity and to view the changes taking
place as opportunities for community and cultural growth.
I’m not saying there
haven’t been problems. Anytime you bring 900 new jobs to a community
and introduce a new culture, there are going to be challenges.
But what has impressed me is
the attitude of city leaders and company managers. Milan is a city that
has embraced the change that comes with a new culture and new
residents, and Premium Standard Farms is a company that recognizes our
responsibility to help make that change positive. We support community
initiatives to improve the quality of life in our area, and in turn the
community welcomes our new employees.
A cultural and economic
infrastructure has emerged to help support newcomers. We have grocery
stores that cater to Latino clientele, and there is a new Latino
Community Center that I’m proud to help serve by being on the board of
directors. As we continue to grow, we are stretching the local
infrastructure. We know there is a need for new housing and that
recreation and education opportunities need to be enhanced. Our
response to that need was to hire a manager of community development.
Jason Helton, the former Gallatin city manager, recently joined our
team to help us support community efforts to meet these needs.
In his recent column, Ken
Midkiff makes a number of inaccurate charges about PSF and the meat
industry. First, his claim of "measly" wages is bogus. The average
annual salary of our hourly workers - not management - not
including bonuses or benefits, is greater than the median household
income in the area. Between 1990 and 1999, per capita income in
Sullivan County increased by 72.8 percent.
A big contributor to that
increase is our processing facility in Milan. The benefits we offer
have helped sustain and develop local health-care options, and the
bonus program and 401K savings plan help provide additional financial
security.
The death of Jose Hernandez
in our plant last May was a terrible tragedy. Everyone in the
organization was deeply saddened. Our management team worked hard,
though, to make sure the emotional and physical needs of his family and
our work force were met immediately. We provided transportation and
accommodations for his family living out of the area, and we provided
immediate financial assistance for his wife and children in Mexico. In
addition to the immediate help, his wife will receive $300 a week, tax
free, for the rest of her life.
This fatality was all the
more troubling because of the outstanding safety record of Premium
Standard Farms. We are consistently among the safest meat processing
plants in the country. We have been operating in Missouri for more than
10 years, and we now have nearly 4,000 employees nationwide.
Jose’s death was the first work-related fatality in company history. It was a tragedy we hope never to repeat.
Midkiff criticized the $9,450
in penalties levied by OSHA as "minuscule." His premise that the
penalties should be tied to the loss of life trivializes the death of
Jose Hernandez.
No amount of money will ever
replace a human life. Larger penalties won’t provide a husband to his
wife or a father to his children. The penalties were tied to the safety
record of our company and the work we do to help ensure a safe work
place for all employees. Midkiff’s claim that "all the widow received
from the company was his body" is an insult to all of us who work to
make safety a part of our culture.
Throwing stones from
Columbia is easy. Working to make a better life for your family and
helping build strong multicultural rural communities take real effort
and real character.
Is the work hard? Absolutely.
Are there challenges in creating a multicultural community? Of course.
I admire the character of our
workers, many of whom demonstrate tremendous courage in moving away
from family and friends to a strange place with a strange language to
make a better life for their family. I also admire the people of Milan,
who have welcomed new citizens to our community. Together we hope to
build a stronger multicultural community with opportunity and reward
for everyone.
Unlike Midkiff, many in
north Missouri view hard work, solid wages and benefits, and a
welcoming community as an opportunity to live the American dream, just
like the millions of immigrants who came before us and helped make this
the greatest country in the world.