By Cindy Gonzalez | Nebraska Examiner
Mark Martinez, former U.S. marshal for Nebraska and community advocate, speaks at a news conference seeking support for Lexington workers losing jobs when a Tyson Foods plant closes in January. Left to right, Albert Varas of the Latino Center of the Midlands; Roger Garcia, Douglas County Board chair; Beth Roberts of the Lexington Community Foundation; Lina Translaviña Stover of the Heartland Workers Center. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)
OMAHA — A group of community leaders from Nebraska’s largest urban area met Tuesday to voice support and seek donations to help with pressing needs of thousands of rural “brothers and sisters” losing jobs as Tyson Foods’ meatpacking plant closes in Lexington.
“We will not be forgetting nor letting our brothers and sisters in a smaller community in Nebraska go through this alone,” said Douglas County Board chair Roger Garcia.
Noting that he grew up in Columbus, Nebraska, Garcia added: “We knew our neighbors, we helped our neighbors. Regardless of ethnicity or background, we were there for each other. And those are the values that we carry across the entire state.”
Garcia was among a panel of speakers requesting that people donate to the Lexington Community Foundation at lexfoundation.org. Beth Roberts, foundation executive director, attended the media event at Omaha’s Latino Center of the Midlands, and said proceeds would be used to help workers and families with day-to-day needs as they navigate next steps.
About 3,200 Tyson workers who live in the Lexington area of about 11,000 — many of them immigrants and refugees — will lose their jobs when Tyson shutters its longtime beef plant in mid-January.
Roberts said this is the most challenging time the town has faced and said the relief fund should help with immediate needs including food, rent and utility assistance. She said the foundation is assembling a team of grassroots community advocacy agencies to meet with workers and to help determine the direction of donations.
“We have a lot of people in crisis right now,” said Mark Martinez, a former U.S. Marshal for Nebraska and community advocate who helped organize the event.
Other speakers included Lina Traslaviña Stover, executive director of the Heartland Workers Center and Albert Varas, CEO of Latino Center of the Midlands. Several offered comments in Spanish.
Ripple effects
Traslaviña said her Omaha-headquartered nonprofit, which has statewide offices and reach, visited with Tyson workers during recent job fairs in Lexington. Representatives of various industries were recruiting, she said, including packing plants from towns such as Gibbon and North Platte.
But worker needs are complex and stretch beyond finding new jobs, Traslaviña said. Many came from Spanish-speaking countries and have invested decades in the Tyson plant. They’re dealing with mortgages, child care and the anxiety of uncertainty.
Laras said his team at the Omaha-based Latino Center of the Midlands stands in solidarity with families of Lexington and will donate as well. “When one Nebraska community is in crisis, it touches us all,” he said.
In addition to the personal toll on families, speakers spoke of ripple effects expected to hit schools, restaurants and other businesses that over the past decades had been lifted by the Tyson workforce. They fear the loss of teachers, talent and tax base.
Roberts noted that more than 70 different national flags are represented at Lexington High School. The town created a Welcome Center that helps families access resources.
“We want to keep that going. We know that’s going to be challenging, but we want to keep that spirit alive,” she said.
People can help in ways beyond financial donations, including volunteer and services as interpreters. Roberts said multiple languages are spoken in the Tyson plant. She suggested calling the foundation for more information.
Martinez and others suggested reaching out to elected officials, nationally and statewide, to question what is being done for Lexington.
Said Garcia: “We care about you and we will walk with you through this journey.”