BUSINESS INSIDER: Gardner Takes in Near-Record PAC Money from JBS Meatpacking, “Conspicuously Silent” on “Their Record-Setting Coronavirus Outbreak”
JBS Meatpacking Plant Employees: “It’s time Senator Gardner protects his constituents and not the companies that are putting profits ahead of our people’s lives”
Denver, CO - A new Business Insider report reveals that Senator Cory Gardner has taken more corporate PAC money from JBS meatpacking than nearly any member of Congress this cycle, and when the JBS plant in Greeley faced a “record-setting coronavirus outbreak,” Gardner was “conspicuously silent.” Despite “bragging” about it on the campaign trail, Gardner and Vice President Mike Pence broke their promise that all employees would be tested after the JBS plant in Greeley suffered one of the largest COVID outbreaks in Colorado, experiencing 291 cases and 8 deaths to date.
The employees of the plant decried Gardner’s “broken promises” saying, “it’s time Senator Gardner protects his constituents and not the companies that are putting profits ahead of our people’s lives,” showing once again he prioritizes wealthy special interests before Coloradans.
Gardner is no stranger to corporate PAC cash, hauling in more corporate PAC cash than any other candidate in Colorado Senate history -- nearly $6 million and counting.
To no surprise, “Gardner's office and campaign refused to comment” about the donations.
See highlights of the Business Insider article below or the full article HERE.
By Jake Lahut | September 24, 2020
- Meatpacking plants have been among the most devastated workplaces during the coronavirus pandemic, with the cramped working conditions and lack of consequential federal oversight leading to scores of COVID-19 infections and deaths.
- But some Republican officials have remained surprisingly tight-lipped about the industry's poor COVID record — including Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, who has been one of the top recipients in Congress of PAC money from JBS meatpacking — over the past decade.
- Gardner's office and campaign refused to comment about the donation on the record.
- In a local talk radio interview, Gardner was hesitant to say anything overly negative about JBS...
- Every time Gardner has been up for reelection since 2012, he has been in the top two for donations from members of the company and its affiliated PAC. His haul from the company now totals $24,000.
- However, the 5,000 tests promised by Pence never arrived, and the plant reopened without testing all employees.
- In the interview, Gardner called essential workers "the real heroes" of the pandemic, but when asked about the concerns from employees about the lack of testing and safety measures, the senator made sure not to come down too heavily on company brass.
- "We have come to expect this rhetoric from JBS, but we expect more from our elected leaders," she added. "Senator Gardner talks big but acts small — and where workers are concerned — doesn't act at all."
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