Omaha community members are urging residents of the state’s largest city to help support the more than 3,000 Tyson Foods workers who will lose their jobs when the company’s Lexington plant closes next month.
Nonprofit leaders said if those employees move away from Nebraska, it will be a detriment to more than just Lexington.
Although the Tyson closure is not in his region, Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia said if all those people have to leave, it will have a ripple effect on the job economy for the whole state.
“I still hold faith that state leaders, congressional leaders, local leaders, can all put their minds together and their resources together and their networks together to still pull off a larger success story of trying to replace those 3,200 jobs some way, somehow,” he said at a press conference held at the Latino Center of the Midlands on Tuesday.
Garcia added he doesn’t want this closure to lead to Nebraska brain drain.
He and other Omaha leaders are urging donations and support for recovery efforts through the Lexington Community Relief Fund.
Beth Roberts, the executive director of the Lexington Community Foundation, said she does not want to lose out on the diversity these workers bring to the area.
“That is something that brings every citizen of Lexington a lot of pride, and we want to keep that pride when we are so lucky to have so many supports from outside communities,” she said. “We want to keep that going. We know that’s going to be challenging, but we want to keep that spirit alive.”
The Lexington Community Relief Fund will be used to assist with rent and mortgages, utilities and other immediate needs.
The fund will help lessen anxiety that comes with an unknown future, according to Heartland Workers Center executive director Lina Traslaviña Stover. Her team has been working on the ground with the community in upskilling the labor force and offering free workplace rights and safety trainings
“Child care and housing, unemployment [are concerns] obviously. But then at the individual level, they’re feeling the pressure, anxiety and mental health, on how to face this decision,” Traslaviña Stover added.
Albert Varas, the president and CEO of the Latino Center of the Midlands, announced the Center will be contributing. He compared the plant closure to a natural disaster in the sense that communities need financial support after tornado destruction, and likewise will need support after job destruction.
“But unlike a natural disaster, we have the gift of having foresight. We see the storm coming, and we have a chance to act now to minimize the harm, to help families and stabilize things before the worst hits,” he said.
By Dec. 25, Roberts and her team hope to have established the local community organizations that will receive the funds as well as put together an intake team for support requests.