#dakota appelbaum

[omgstupendousbouquetbasement]

Trump to Order Meat Processing Plants to Remain Open

President Donald Trump will take executive action Tuesday to order meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the impact on the nation's food supply. 

The order will use the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to keep plants open and prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves, despite concerns about workers' health. 

The virus has forced two of the nation's largest plants, one in Iowa and one in South Dakota, to close and others to slow production. 

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, said Tuesday that 20 food-processing and meatpacking union workers in the U.S. have died of the virus. An estimated 6,500 are sick or have been exposed to the virus while working near someone who tested positive, the union says. 

FILE - A Tyson Fresh Meats plant employee leaves the plant, in Logansport, Ind., April 23, 2020.

As a result, industry leaders have warned that consumers could see meat shortages in a matter of days. Tyson Foods Inc., one of the world's largest food companies, ran a full-page advertisement in The New York Times and other newspapers Sunday warning, "The food supply chain is breaking." 

"As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain," it read. 

Tyson Foods suspended operations at its plant in Waterloo, Iowa, and Smithfield Foods halted production at its plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after an outbreak infected 853 workers.  

The 15 largest pork-packing plants account for 60% of all pork processed in the U.S. 

Liability protections

A senior White House official said the administration was trying to prevent a situation in which a "vast majority" of the nation's meat processing plants might have temporarily closed operations, reducing the availability of meat in supermarkets by as much as 80%. 

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the order before its release, said the White House was also working with the Labor Department to provide enhanced safety guidance for meatpacking workers. That will include trying to minimize the risk to workers who may be prone to serious complications from the virus, including strongly recommending those over the age of 65 and with preexisting conditions stay home. 

The five-page order, which was developed in consultation with industry leaders, is designed, in part, to provide companies with additional liability protections in case workers get sick. 

FILE - In this image from video, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., speaks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 4, 2020.

Trump on Tuesday described the issue as a "legal roadblock." The order, he said, would "solve any liability problems where they had certain liability problems and we'll be in very good shape."

Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, had written a letter to Trump asking him to use the DPA to declare the food supply industry an essential industry, warning that consumers would see a meat shortage in a matter of days akin to the panic over toilet paper the virus created. 

Worker safety

But UFCW International President Marc Perrone said that more must be done to protect the safety of workers. 

"Simply put, we cannot have a secure food supply without the safety of these workers," he said in a statement, urging the administration "to immediately enact clear and enforceable safety standards" and compel companies to provide protective equipment, make daily testing available to workers, and enforce physical distancing, among other measures. 

FILE - Smithfield Foods pork plant, the world’s biggest pork processor, sits closed due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, April 17, 2020.

Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said the administration should have acted earlier to put safety measures in place. 

"We only wish that this administration cared as much about the lives of working people as it does about meat, pork and poultry products," he said. 

Indeed, concerns about working conditions have led some to walk off the job. In central Minnesota, some workers at the Pilgrim's Pride poultry plant walked out Monday night to protest the company's record on worker safety. 

Mohamed Goni, an organizer with Greater Minnesota Worker Center, said workers have complained the company is not sharing information about sick colleagues, has not implemented social distancing on the line, and that workers who were sick returned after just two or three days, and some workers who developed symptoms were not allowed to leave when they asked to go home.  

"The company refused, saying there would be a shortage of workers," Goni said, adding that 80% to 85% of the plant's workers are Somali. 

"They have other family members living with them — elderly, children, people with underlying conditions. So if one of them brings that to their homes, it's going to be more worse and a more serious problem," Goni said. 

Cameron Bruett, head of corporate affairs for JBS USA and Pilgrim's, said in an email that employees are never forced to work or punished for an absence due to health reasons.  

"We will endeavor to keep our facilities open to help feed the nation, but we will not operate a facility if we do not believe it is safe. The health and safety of our team members remains our number one priority," Bruett said.  

FILE - South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks in Pierre, S.D., January 2019.

In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem has said she hopes to see a reopening plan for Smithfield this week, but sidestepped questions Tuesday about whether she agreed with Trump's order, which might have prevented the Sioux Falls plant from shutting down if it had been in place earlier. 

"We need to keep (plants) running, but we also need to protect people," Noem said.   

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[plusorminuscongress]

New Acquisition: Billy Strayhorn Archive

New Acquisition: Billy Strayhorn Archive By Wendi Maloney Published December 14, 2018 at 10:00AM

This is a guest post by Larry Appelbaum, senior reference librarian and jazz specialist in the Music Division. It was first published on “In the Muse,” the division’s blog. Appelbaum interviewed Gregory Morris, nephew of Billy Strayhorn, to mark the Library’s acquisition of the Billy Strayhorn Music Manuscripts and Estate Papers.

Billy Strayhorn. Music Division.

In January 2017, I traveled to a suburb outside of Phoenix, Arizona, to meet Gregory Morris and family. Morris is the nephew of Billy Strayhorn and executor of the Billy Strayhorn Estate. Dr. Morris, a retired educator originally from Pittsburgh, kept the collection in safe hands for nearly five decades. The papers, including holograph scores, manuscripts, photographs and business papers, are a treasure trove for researchers and scholars of 20th-century American music. They are also of special interest to anyone interested in the work of Duke Ellington, with whom Strayhorn worked and collaborated until his early death from esophageal cancer in 1967. It’s taken nearly a year to process and catalog the collection, but it is now available for researchers to consult in the Performing Arts Reading Room; an online finding aid has also been prepared.

I interviewed Dr. Morris via email about the importance of the collection and significance of the materials for scholars from various disciplines. Here are his responses.

Billy Strayhorn died on May 31, 1967. Pick up the story from there. Did he discuss with you what he wanted for his papers? A few years before my uncle, Billy Strayhorn, died, he asked if I would be the executor of his estate. I asked what that meant, and he said to take care of his stuff. I agreed to serve. Upon his death, I gathered his belongings and music from his apartment. I surmised from his comments that he wanted me to make certain that he got credit for all the work he had written. That meant that everything that had not been copyrighted should be copyrighted in his name.

Strayhorn’s essay “Harmony.” Music Division.

Give an idea of what’s in the collection and how it might serve musical scholarship. In the Billy Strayhorn collection, there are original manuscripts, titled and untitled, that would enable scholars to examine how Billy wrote music. He wrote many parts for specific musicians in the orchestra. A close study may reveal other secrets about Strayhorn’s approach to composition.

What kind of creative community did Billy emerge from in Pittsburgh? Pittsburgh, a relatively small city, had a major symphony orchestra and opera company, as well as a Negro opera company. Billy studied classical piano for many years and then moved into jazz. Pittsburgh has a rich jazz history that produced Ahmad Jamal, Mary Lou Williams, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn, Ray Brown, Dakota Staton, Billy Eckstine, Dodo Marmarosa, Roy Eldridge, Erroll Garner, Earl “Fatha” Hines and many others. The free expression of the listening and learning of music flowed like the three rivers.

What items resonate the most with you and the family? Surprises or revelations? I was pleasantly surprised by the volume and variety of music Billy created such as “Valse,” “Chelsea Bridge,” “Lush Life,” “Upper Manhattan Medical Group,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Swing Dance,” “Something to Live For” and “Blood Count.”

Do you feel Duke ever exploited Billy’s good nature? Duke and his sister, Ruth Ellington, thought they owned everything Billy created and produced, including songs he wrote prior to leaving Pittsburgh.

Can you tell from listening which pieces were composed by Duke versus Billy? Personally, I cannot, but Strayhorn aficionados can distinguish between the two.

We know which Strayhorn compositions are most famous. Any thoughts about which have the most musical significance? Billy had so many different periods of writing. One significant period was in 1941 during the ASCAP strike. Billy was responsible for filling the Ellington band book with new songs since Ellington was restricted from performing any of his compositions on the radio — the radio was the life blood of the band. Billy’s most famous song was “Take the ‘A’ Train,” which became Ellington’s theme song. There was also a string of titles that are some of the most often recorded today. Among these compositions was “Johnny Come Lately.” That and others like it revealed that Strayhorn was in tune with the soon-rising style of be-bop.

How about his work before joining Ellington? Before joining Duke Ellington, he wrote “Something to Live For” for his trio, the Mad Hatters, in Pittsburgh. He also wrote a production for Westinghouse High School entitled “Fantastic Rhythm.” From “Fantastic Rhythm,” “My Little Brown Book” remains. Billy also wrote “Lush Life” before leaving Pittsburgh. It is interesting that this title was never part of the Ellington book, and Ellington never performed or recorded it.

Gregory Morris with wife Thelma Morris (center) and Strayhorn scholar Alyce Claerbaut. Photo by Larry Appelbaum.

What was the role of Walter Van De Leur in organizing the collection? What I brought from Billy’s apartment was from my nonmusical background lots of paper. I had many people look at it, but no one came back until David Hadju introduced us to Walter van de Leur. Walter came to Pittsburgh to organize and catalog what we had brought from Billy’s apartment. Walter organized the manuscripts and spent 10 years studying the music. Since Walter was a fellow in the Ellington Collection at the Smithsonian, he could compare the Ellington hand and the Strayhorn hand. As a result of Walter’s work, he took copies home to the Netherlands to have the Dutch Jazz Orchestra play them. It eventually produced “A Portrait of a Silk Thread: Newly Discovered Works of Billy Strayhorn.”

What did you think of Van De Leur’s book and David Hajdu’s? David Hajdu’s book, “Lush Life,” explored the life of Billy Strayhorn, while Walter van de Leur’s book, “Something to Live For,” explored the music and the genius of Billy Strayhorn. Both were milestones in the effort to advance the legacy of Billy Strayhorn.

Are there any aspects of Billy’s life or work that have not yet been adequately examined? A researcher can always find something to pique their interest.

What made you feel the Library of Congress was the appropriate home for the collection? The Library of Congress was selected because it is the premier repository for valuable documents. The Library is also easily accessed by scholars and, being in our nation’s capital, it is in close proximity to the many museums and research centers of the Smithsonian.

Read more on https://loc.gov

[ciuvba-kouvta]

Their Soybeans Piling Up, Farmers Hope Trade War Ends Before Beans Rot

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM North Dakota’s soybean crops are flourishing. But China has stopped buying. Published: November 4, 2018 at 02:00PM from NYT Business Day https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/business/soybeans-farmers-trade-war.html?partner=IFTTT via IFTTT

[globalnaijanews]

Their Soybeans Piling Up, Farmers Hope Trade War Ends Before Beans Rot by BINYAMIN APPELBAUM By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM North Dakota’s soybean crops are flourishing. But China has stopped buying. Published: November 5, 2018 at 01:00AM from NYT Business Day via IFTTT

[virberello]

Their Soybeans Piling Up, Farmers Hope Trade War Ends Before Beans Rot

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM North Dakota’s soybean crops are flourishing. But China has stopped buying. Published: November 5, 2018 at 05:00AM from NYT https://ift.tt/2PDXa5O via IFTTT

[izayoi1242]

Their Soybeans Piling Up, Farmers Hope Trade War Ends Before Beans Rot

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM North Dakota’s soybean crops are flourishing. But China has stopped buying. Published: November 5, 2018 at 09:00AM from NYT Business Day https://ift.tt/2PDXa5O via IFTTT

[hulusan]

Their Soybeans Piling Up, Farmers Hope Trade War Ends Before Beans Rot

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM North Dakota’s soybean crops are flourishing. But China has stopped buying. Published: November 5, 2018 at 03:30AM from NYT Business Day https://ift.tt/2PDXa5O

[topnewsfromtheworld]

Their Soybeans Piling Up, Farmers Hope Trade War Ends Before Beans Rot

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM North Dakota’s soybean crops are flourishing. But China has stopped buying. Published: November 5, 2018 at 01:00AM from NYT Business Day https://ift.tt/2PDXa5O

[dailybiznews]

Their Soybeans Piling Up, Farmers Hope Trade War Ends Before Beans Rot

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM North Dakota’s soybean crops are flourishing. But China has stopped buying. Published: November 5, 2018 at 12:00AM from NYT Business Day https://nyti.ms/2DnRabk via IFTTT

[v-tude]

[omgstupendousbouquetbasement]

Trump to Order Meat Processing Plants to Remain Open

President Donald Trump will take executive action Tuesday to order meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the impact on the nation's food supply. 

The order will use the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to keep plants open and prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves, despite concerns about workers' health. 

The virus has forced two of the nation's largest plants, one in Iowa and one in South Dakota, to close and others to slow production. 

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, said Tuesday that 20 food-processing and meatpacking union workers in the U.S. have died of the virus. An estimated 6,500 are sick or have been exposed to the virus while working near someone who tested positive, the union says. 

FILE - A Tyson Fresh Meats plant employee leaves the plant, in Logansport, Ind., April 23, 2020.

As a result, industry leaders have warned that consumers could see meat shortages in a matter of days. Tyson Foods Inc., one of the world's largest food companies, ran a full-page advertisement in The New York Times and other newspapers Sunday warning, "The food supply chain is breaking." 

"As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain," it read. 

Tyson Foods suspended operations at its plant in Waterloo, Iowa, and Smithfield Foods halted production at its plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after an outbreak infected 853 workers.  

The 15 largest pork-packing plants account for 60% of all pork processed in the U.S. 

Liability protections

A senior White House official said the administration was trying to prevent a situation in which a "vast majority" of the nation's meat processing plants might have temporarily closed operations, reducing the availability of meat in supermarkets by as much as 80%. 

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the order before its release, said the White House was also working with the Labor Department to provide enhanced safety guidance for meatpacking workers. That will include trying to minimize the risk to workers who may be prone to serious complications from the virus, including strongly recommending those over the age of 65 and with preexisting conditions stay home. 

The five-page order, which was developed in consultation with industry leaders, is designed, in part, to provide companies with additional liability protections in case workers get sick. 

FILE - In this image from video, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., speaks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 4, 2020.

Trump on Tuesday described the issue as a "legal roadblock." The order, he said, would "solve any liability problems where they had certain liability problems and we'll be in very good shape."

Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, had written a letter to Trump asking him to use the DPA to declare the food supply industry an essential industry, warning that consumers would see a meat shortage in a matter of days akin to the panic over toilet paper the virus created. 

Worker safety

But UFCW International President Marc Perrone said that more must be done to protect the safety of workers. 

"Simply put, we cannot have a secure food supply without the safety of these workers," he said in a statement, urging the administration "to immediately enact clear and enforceable safety standards" and compel companies to provide protective equipment, make daily testing available to workers, and enforce physical distancing, among other measures. 

FILE - Smithfield Foods pork plant, the world’s biggest pork processor, sits closed due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, April 17, 2020.

Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said the administration should have acted earlier to put safety measures in place. 

"We only wish that this administration cared as much about the lives of working people as it does about meat, pork and poultry products," he said. 

Indeed, concerns about working conditions have led some to walk off the job. In central Minnesota, some workers at the Pilgrim's Pride poultry plant walked out Monday night to protest the company's record on worker safety. 

Mohamed Goni, an organizer with Greater Minnesota Worker Center, said workers have complained the company is not sharing information about sick colleagues, has not implemented social distancing on the line, and that workers who were sick returned after just two or three days, and some workers who developed symptoms were not allowed to leave when they asked to go home.  

"The company refused, saying there would be a shortage of workers," Goni said, adding that 80% to 85% of the plant's workers are Somali. 

"They have other family members living with them — elderly, children, people with underlying conditions. So if one of them brings that to their homes, it's going to be more worse and a more serious problem," Goni said. 

Cameron Bruett, head of corporate affairs for JBS USA and Pilgrim's, said in an email that employees are never forced to work or punished for an absence due to health reasons.  

"We will endeavor to keep our facilities open to help feed the nation, but we will not operate a facility if we do not believe it is safe. The health and safety of our team members remains our number one priority," Bruett said.  

FILE - South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks in Pierre, S.D., January 2019.

In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem has said she hopes to see a reopening plan for Smithfield this week, but sidestepped questions Tuesday about whether she agreed with Trump's order, which might have prevented the Sioux Falls plant from shutting down if it had been in place earlier. 

"We need to keep (plants) running, but we also need to protect people," Noem said.   

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[v-tude]

mmhhmmm

[v-tude]

hops

[v-tude]

kota playing dress up

[v-tude]

Dakota after No-Shave-November-December-January....

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dakota's alter ego: meow