Worker complaints over conditions at the GE Appliances Roper plant in LaFayette, Georgia, amid the coronavirus have drawn a sharp reaction from an aide to former United Nations ambassador Andrew Young.
Tricia Harris, executive aide to the former United States ambassador and Atlanta mayor, said she lives in Walker County, has heard from relatives who work at the plant and seen employee worries on social media about close working conditions at the large oven-production factory.
"They should close the plant," she said. "They're putting people at risk. I don't want anyone to die."
Harris, in an email to GE Appliances CEO Kevin Nolan, requested an "immediate shut down" of the facility that typically employs more than 2,000 making ovens and stoves. A petition on Change.org had 1,777 signatures on Wednesday afternoon.
However, a GE Appliances spokeswoman said the health and safety of its employees is "our number one priority."
"Beginning weeks ago, we took unprecedented steps to modify our factories and work habits to align with (Centers for Disease Control) guidelines and protect employees during the COVID-19 pandemic," said spokeswoman MarySusan Abell.
Harris said her brother, who works at the plant, tells her there's not enough social distancing. She said that "some people are sick, everyone is afraid."
"My family feels like they're being forced to work," she said, adding the plant should be closed and employees furloughed - not laid off - for the time being.
Harris said that because the Roper plant draws employees from the region, a coronavirus outbreak at the factory "has the potential to create a super-cluster of infected people."
However, Abell said every job at the Roper facility was audited and jobs and workplaces modified to allow for at least six feet of space between employees as they work. About a third of the jobs needed modifications, Abell said.
"In places where six feet of distance was practicable," she said, "we have have implemented other measures deemed safe by public health officials to provide additional protection, including commercial-grade dividers, face shields and additional safety supplies."
Abell said every person entering the plant must go through temperature screening.
"The screening is touchless, performed by infrared camera, takes just seconds," she said.
Also, more than 100 hand-washing and sanitization stations are available throughout the plant, Abell said.
Walkways and areas where people congregate have been marked off with six-foot measurements, signage put up reminding workers on social distancing, and start and finish times have been staggered to reduce potential contact, she said.
Break areas have been spread out to six-foot distances and capacities limited, Abell said. In restrooms, every other sink and urinal has been closed off, she said.
But Harris cited employees on social media sites who've expressed worries about work.
One Roper employee said she took personal leave without pay over concerns about working at the plant.
"My life and my family's life is way more important than is a stove," the worker said in a post.
Another woman said on social media that Roper employees "don't feel safe and are scared to catch the virus."
Still another woman said on social media that she appreciated efforts "to close the Roper plant through these horrible days."
Harris said some employees believe that "It's work or lose your job, basically."
The aide to the 88-year-old Young said the Roper plant first put up Saran wrap between some employees while "it's now getting plexiglass though it's not installed yet."
She said GE Appliances, which is owned by Chinese-run Haier Group, notes that the company is termed "an essential business."
"Why is building stoves an essential business?" Harris asked. "Are we having a national stove emergency?"
She said in her email to the company's CEO that GE Appliances should be "good corporate citizens and close the plant immediately and consider this for all the plants that aren't truly essential to our survival during these unprecedented times."
Harris said she formerly was responsible for oversight of the public and private interests of Coretta Scott King, who was wife of Martin Luther King Jr., and the King family. She said M.L. King referenced nearby Lookout Mountain in his "I Have a Dream" speech.
"We need freedom to ring here now because we would all like to be free to not catch COVID-19," Harris said.
GE Appliances said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has included appliances manufacturing, service and retailing on its essential critical infrastructure workforce advisory list.
"This has been further reinforced through numerous state-level guidance and directives," Abell said.
She said Roper is rolling out "appreciation pay" of $2 additional per hour to hourly production workers.
"Our production workers come to our manufacturing facilities each day where they build appliances that ensure American households can continue to safety store foods and medicines, make meals for their families, and eliminate germs on their clothes and dishes at a time when it is needed most," Abell said.
She said the Roper leadership team is ensuring continuous improvement in social distancing and addressing issues as employees arrive at the plant.
"Unfortunately, there are some misconceptions on social media that portray the measures we've taken," Abell said.
She said all barriers at the plant are "commercial-grade materials, including solid Lexan plastic barriers already installed in several locations throughout the plant."
Abell said other areas are having additional such barriers installed daily where appropriate.
"We are continuously auditing new COVID-19 health and safety protocols and coaching our team members for improvements as we all get used to a different way of working together safely," she said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.