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Workers at the Lennox Industries plant in Stuttgart, Arkansas, report that at least two other workers have died from COVID-19 infections since World Socialist Website published a Sept. 14 briefing on the deadly outbreak at the plant. The workers and their relatives told the WSWS that a total of seven workers at the plant, located 55 miles southeast of Little Rock, had succumbed to the disease.
Lennox Industries manufactures air conditioning products for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration markets. The company and factory management have refused to confirm any reports or accusations by workers that Lennox was using inmates from COVID-infected prisons to replace missing workers. Local management hung up the reporter on the phone, and the Dallas, Texas-based company’s public relations department did not respond to our requests. Likewise, the WSWS received no response from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offices in Little Rock.
Workers at the factory, however, welcomed the exposure of the conditions they face, and several have printed and distributed hundreds of copies of the original WSWS article to their co-workers and members of the their family. “The workers said the article was great. Management threatened to fire anyone who was caught reading it. So most of them went out on their lunch break to read it. Workers say the company began injecting vaccines shortly after the article appeared. “
Thousands of workers also read the WSWS article online. After reading it, an employee at the Stuttgart plant who recently resigned due to management’s callous response to outbreaks of infections at the plant emailed the WSWS, saying, “On the day where I went out, the line supervisor came to me and the team leader and told us that there was a two-line COVID outbreak and about 30 people had it. They evacuated all management, all human resources, all payroll, all supervisors and the two lines that were infected. They told the rest of us and the team leader that we had to stay there and work, that it was up to us for the next week to come to work and do everything while they all got home. during one week.
“The team leader said to the production manager, ‘What is it, man, are you all going to leave us here? The production manager said, “Sorry, but we have children and women to take care of,” as if not everyone matters. So I packed my things and went out. I wasn’t about to be left out there with an outbreak going on because they care more about senior leaders than blue collar workers. If they didn’t have blue collar workers they wouldn’t have a factory, but they see us as toilet paper, easy to get and they can shit on. I quit because of the way they treated me.
Even before the pandemic, the worker said, management showed complete disregard for the health and safety of workers. “When people get hurt, they fire you or treat you like junk to get you to quit. So when people get hurt, they try to hide it and keep working. I was a function test operator and I was at risk of being electrocuted, which I did a few times, and I hid it.
The factory, which manufactures air conditioners, also does not have air conditioning for its workers. In addition to the sweltering heat, there are also mosquitoes, cockroaches and other pests in the plant. When there was a bomb threat at the factory, the worker reported, management evacuated the building but “sent us back within 30 minutes without even calling the fire department to secure the place.”
Commenting on OSHA’s failure to respond to WSWS inquiries regarding a COVID outbreak at the plant, the former worker said, “The reason OSHA won’t comment or respond to you is because OSHA is paid at the door before you even get to walk into the factory. If OSHA was able to walk on the plant, they would shut it down immediately, â€he said.
It is clear that Lennox prioritizes profits over lives. He made a big deal during the pandemic. Announcing the company’s latest quarterly results in July, Lennox CEO Todd Bluedorn boasted: “Lennox International delivered record second quarter revenues and profits with strong growth across all three businesses. Our Residential business has reached new heights in terms of revenue, margin and profit. Sales increased by 30% thanks to strong growth in replacement and new construction activities. Segment margin increased 290 basis points to 22.6%, and profit increased 49%.
According to a company statement, Lennox made a record $ 222 million in the second quarter. He also announced a $ 200 million stock buyback plan to boost the company’s share price and a 19% dividend increase for its wealthy shareholders. Last year, Bluedorn pocketed $ 7.6 million in compensation, or 271 times the annual salary of $ 28,000 a machine operator earns at the Stuttgart plant. Bluedorn earns 1,542 times the annual salary of $ 4,928 (101,616 pesos) of the highest paid manufacturing workers at Lennox’s plant in Saltillo, Mexico.
The company exploits the high level of poverty and economic desperation to fill its factories. Stuttgart, with a population of 8,232, has a poverty rate of 17.9% (1,480 people), while Arkansas County, where Stuttgart is located, has 3,372 (18.82%) cases. of COVID-19 and 56 deaths. The county has a total population of 17,914, according to the 2019 census report.
Lennox executives and its wealthiest shareholders are profiteers from the pandemic – who got richer as more than 700,000 people in the United States and 277,000 in Mexico have died, including an unknown number of workers in its sweatshop .
In March, John Whinery, vice president of product management at Lennox, bragged about the release of a new line of high-cost air purifiers, which he said would protect homeowners and their families from COVID. “With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping homeowners indoors more than ever, clean air has never been more important. This is why I am particularly happy and proud to announce that after months of rigorous testing, the PureAir â„¢ and PureAir â„¢ S air purification systems, with the Lennox Healthy Climate â„¢ Carbon Clean 16® air filter, eliminate over 99% of viruses that cause COVID-19 from the air. When it comes to the safety and comfort of homeowners and families, we don’t take our role lightly, and we hope this announcement will be further proof of our unwavering dedication to cleansing the entire home for perfect air. .
Company executives and company management care little about purifying the air that workers at the Stuttgart plant and its other manufacturing facilities breathe. It is up to workers to take action to defend their lives and that of their loved ones. WSWS urges workers to form a grassroots safety committee to communicate with each other, unravel the truth and prepare collective action, if necessary, to force the plant to close and protect the health and safety of all workers . We urge Lennox workers and other workers facing similar conditions to email us at [email protected] to provide confidential information on the conditions and discuss how to create a grassroots safety committee. We will take all necessary precautions to protect the identity of workers who contact us in order to protect them from reprisals.
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