Fund Iowa Reporter - Packing Plant Outbreaks

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across Iowa, it's becoming increasingly clear that many "essential" Iowa workers — especially those from disadvantaged communities — are showing up to unsafe work environments. Workers at meat packing plants tell us that the safety precautions the plants say were being implemented were not. And data shows that Iowa's Latino community is being very disproportionately impacted by the virus.

"Essential" workers should not be "expendable" workers, but to help get these people protections, others need to know their stories.

Iowa Starting Line is looking to hire a reporter for a special, one-month project (longer, if we can raise more, but we'll start here) that will investigate how Iowa workers are being treated during the pandemic and the unique challenges they face. This reporter will likely focus in on one or two specific communities/towns, ones that have meat packing plants, to delve into people's personal stories more. While other news outlets have to furlough reporters, this will add to our capacity when it's needed most, building on what we've already started with our part-time Immigrant Voices reporter.

We'll explore how businesses are treating their employees during the pandemic, how communities of color are being impacted, how access to health care is affecting coronavirus outcomes, and any other unique challenges Iowa workers face in this time.

For many of these communities, especially the meat packing plant workers, it takes time to build up trust to get the full, real story from people. We hope this position allows Starting Line to uncover what's really happening on the ground in Iowa.

Please contribute as much as you can. Independent journalism in these times is more crucial than ever, but it takes money to run. If you have questions, email Pat at [adresse courriel retirée]