Organizations routing $600 payments to Iowa farmworkers, meatpackers and grocery clerks

Tyler Jett, Des Moines Register
·3 min read

Several local groups will work with national organizations to route federal payments of $600 apiece to Iowa's farmworkers, grocery store employees and meatpackers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that it was providing $670 million to 15 groups to make the payments, using money Congress allocated through an appropriations bill. The lawmakers set the money aside for employees in the U.S. food sector, which largely continued to operate during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of their applications to handle the money, the organizations listed local groups they would work with across the country to get the money to the workers. Six of those 15 groups are working with Iowa organizations:

  • Catholic Charities USA

  • The Cherokee Nation

  • The Hispanic Federation

  • The United Food & Commercial Workers Charity Foundation

  • The United Farm Workers Foundation

  • United Migrant Opportunity Services

A meeting room at the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 431 offices in Davenport.
A meeting room at the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 431 offices in Davenport.

Of the groups the USDA is working with, the UFCW Charity Foundation is the biggest recipient, getting $141.6 million from the federal government — about one-fifth of the total money. The union, which represents a range of employees but is best known for its work with meatpackers and grocery store clerks, represented about 15,400 workers in Iowa locals as of last year, a group that includes some members living and working in bordering states.

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According to the union, the money it is receiving from the USDA will not just go to members. The UFCW is creating an online portal where anybody who has worked in grocery stores, meatpacking plants or on farms since the start of the pandemic can apply for funds. The workers will need to share some sort of proof of work, such as a W-2 form or a paystub, the UFCW said.

Hispanic Federation, which is receiving $44.3 million, will route some of that money through Council Bluffs-based Centro Latino of Iowa. United Migrant Opportunity Services, which is in Wisconsin and is getting $56.9 million, is partnering with Des Moines-based Proteus to provide funds to meatpackers and farmworkers in Iowa.

"Proteus has the boots-on-the-ground contacts within the state of Iowa," UMOS spokesperson Roderick Ritcherson said. "We will be working closely with them to identify workers and meatpackers to help them fill out applications and so forth."

Ritcherson said the organization still needs to sign a contract with the USDA before it receives money, a process he expects to wrap up in 10 to 15 days. He said he believes UMOS will be able to start sending money to workers in 30 to 45 days.

More:Ex-union leader acknowledges defending company as COVID-19 ravaged Iowa meatpacking plant workforce

The organization has two years to route the money to workers. Ritcherson said many workers the organizations help may not get the funds at least until next spring if the process doesn't flow smoothly. He said many of those farm workers will leave the Midwest during the winter.

"We need to move quickly," he said.

Anthony Washington, 65, of Columbus Junction, poses for a photo, Monday, April 20, 2020, in Columbus Junction, Iowa. Washington was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Columbus Junction in 2007 from Chicago to work at the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in town.
Anthony Washington, 65, of Columbus Junction, poses for a photo, Monday, April 20, 2020, in Columbus Junction, Iowa. Washington was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Columbus Junction in 2007 from Chicago to work at the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in town.

Catholic Charities USA, which received $9 million from the USDA, is partnering with two Iowa groups. Catholic Charities Sioux City plans to provide funds to meatpacking workers in Denison, Sioux City and Storm Lake, as well as some workers in Nebraska and South Dakota, Executive Director Amy Bloch said. Escucha Mi Voz Iowa, meanwhile, will route Catholic Charities money to meatpackers in nonunionized plants in Columbus Junction, Washington and West Liberty.

The group also plans to get money to farmworkers in the area, aiming to provide a total of about 1,800 checks.

Escucha Mi Voz Iowa lobbied local governments last year to use some of the federal COVID-19 relief money provided by Congress for "excluded workers funds." The money would go to immigrant workers who had not received federal stimulus checks in 2020 and 2021.

Johnson County and Iowa City agreed to create fund, with the county paying $2 million and the city chipping in $1.5 million. The local governments reported providing $1,400 each to about 2,200 residents.

Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Some Iowa food workers to get $600 payments from U.S. government