Roughly 100 workers walked out of Smithfield Foods’ pork plant in Monmouth, Illinois, after maintenance worker Patou Mpinda, 44, died during an overnight shift. The county coroner said the death is believed to be work-related; a final ruling is pending.
Workers said they were told to start production after the death; Smithfield later said they could leave without penalty. A co-worker said machinery played a role, but the company had not identified the equipment or said whether lockout procedures were used.
An investigation is planned. In February, OSHA cited the Monmouth plant in a serious lockout-tagout case after two employees faced amputation risk while cleaning an auger; the penalty was later reduced from $14,188 to $9,931.60.
