Discussions

Because the cases weren’t caught at work.  
The individuals attended a few gatherings and contracted it outside of work. There’s no transmission at work, transmission has been caused by them hanging out in groups. Even if they did shut down it wouldn’t make a difference as they continue to gather outside the work place.

Are those people even self isolating? Or have they?

They're supposed to, but the plant can't really mandate what their workers do in their off time. Many of them are not properly quarantining

if they have ordered someone to self isolate  
 
public health phones them every day to ensure they are and how they are feeling

You know what, the province has said daily they haven't seen any work place transmission yet twice employees at the plant have said the conditions are not good, that transmission has more then likely occurred at the plant.  
 
If the province and maple leaf were telling the truth then why would employees have put out that letter? Personally this screams a money play for me. Maple Leaf can't export to China currently due to COVID, I don't have the numbers but I'd assume that's a huge loss, and if they have to shut down and clean the plant for 3 weeks I'd assume the economy would take a substantial hit, Pallister won't stand for that he invested how much money into this ridiculous campaign to use signs and a colour coded system.  
 
Something is off, and I would say instead of blaming the employees of maple leaf who have a lot more to lose by outing the disgusting actions of the plant and the government we should be listening to them and asking these questions to Rousin, Pallister, and the management at that plant until they give us more of an answer then "We've seen no evidence of work place transmission."  
 
This is an utter embarrassment and if it comes out that they lied to us and put us at risk because they were more concerned about the money then our lives, then Pallister and the Management at maple leaf need to be held accountable for whats happened in town.

Even if they didn’t catch it at work doesn’t that still put employees in harms way?  
 
An employee will get fired for not locking out a switch but when the owner does something dangerous it’s considered ok.  
 
It’s always money first over workers health.

Ya but they gave away a bunch of masks so that makes up for everything! (said sarcastically)

Are the people that don't believe the information being provided by the province also saying that they have no confidence in the contact tracing system and other safety measures that have been implemented?

The consequences of shutting down would mean the gassing of thousands of pigs across Manitoba. Individual barns ship hundreds of pigs a week. They have pigs coming to replace those being shipped. They would quickly run out of space and barns would quickly be overpopulated. they would have to take drastic measures to remedy the situation.

Look its an incredibly tough decision, but if more Manitobans are going to die and get sick because some business couldn't be bothered to actually take care of their staff, then yes they need to pay piper. They need to do the right thing, not disingenuously give masks to the city to avoid being held accountable.  
 
At the end of the day my standpoint is we can no longer let dollars and cents dictate public safety. THE STAFF AT MAPLE LEAF TWICE, TWICE have asked for help! it is unacceptable to put them or anyone else in the community at risk.

To-date the Province has found no evidence of workplace transmission within the plant with cases said to have been acquired outside of the plant and in the community.  
 
Just for the sake of making sure that facts are represented here, the Sun and CBC's most recent stories on the topic:  
 
https://www.brandonsun.com/local/maple-leaf-workers-call-for-brandon-plant-shutdown-572212172.html  
 
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/maple-leaf-foods-covid19-clean-workers-manitoba-1.5697477

If they are worried about catching it at work then are they also taking the same precautions at home as their work place is implementing? Wearing masks, sanitizing everyday and social distancing?? It is apparent that most are not! There are ZERO cases of workplace transmission and the government has stated that they are going above their recommendations for sanitizing and cleaning.  
So why should a work place have to shut down when the staff they are employing are not taking it serious on their own time? And yes I know they are going to say that they are entitled to do as they please on their own time, but if your work is doing everything they can to keep you safe then you should be doing the same at home!  
IF they shut down the employees should be forced to go on CREB and the employer should not have to pay the wages of people that don't want to work!  
It is my understanding as well that a lot of other employees are saying it is safer there at the plant than it is outside of the plant.

Just because the province says it is safe does not necessary mean it is safe.  
 
I am aware of a workplace in Westman which had work health and safety visited them a fair number of times in the last few years over some things which are not safe. To make a long story short, Work, health and safety essentially ignored the issues and but found some really minor stuff instead at this one workplace. The issues never got fixed the last time I heard 3 years ago.  
 
Somewhere between what the union and Maple Leaf says is truth. If the people don't feel safe, in the side of caution and public relations, it would be best for Maple Leaf to temporary shut down and do a complete clean up and fix any issues that are the issue. To completely dismiss the union in this case is not smart.

they are getting it as advised from public health officer from a geographical area thus contacts in their household friends and neighbours.  
 
on weekend it was also stated there were multi family homes that also helps the spread of covid 19 easier  
 
as in any workplace, workers make friends with other workers and socialize outside the workplace.  
 
shutting the whole plant doesn't make any sense  
 
and employees wouldn't be eligible for any payments from any programs

I'll openly admit that if maple leaf is actually taking all of those precautions then I was in the wrong for thinking the worst of the business. Just for the sake of conversation have they done a public release to make these measures more publicly known?

I knew of these measures-i have seen them posted elsewhere on social media and/or on news sites. I thought it was common knowledge, though I suppose it depends if people actually read everything that gets put out there.  
 
I have also heard from 4 different employees that inside the plant the company has gone to great lengths to make the plant safe. 2 of those people have admitted that not all employees are so good at trying to be safe outside of the workplace.

How many more cases today???

Maple Leaf is better than the hospital at preventative measures. I know, I work there. You literally have a better chance of getting Covid self isolating at home and getting you mail and groceries delivered to you.  
People "not feeling safe" is an excuse to not work and stay home, or fear mongering by a few trouble makers. Both apply.  
Many of the people who claim to not feel safe at work do feel safe enough to go to shoppers mall or the beach. How does that work? Union has been crying for a bitchfest from day one, even though the health authorities cannot make any further recommendations for Maple Leaf to make.  
In addition to all the measures mentioned above, there are staggered lunch/coffee breaks to further reduce staff in the 9 cafeterias, but they are making even more cafeteria space. They are even installing plastic dividers in the locker rooms (there are 7 locker rooms that I can think of from the top of my head. I might be forgetting some.  
Plus, on the weekends there is deep clean sanitizing above and beyond someone following you and sanitzing everything you touch. There is someone sanitizing every table and chair and divider in the cafeteria everytime it is used.  
Plus, you have to sanitize at least twice before even getting inside the main building. There are literally security guards to make sure you are sanitizing as per protocol to get inside the building.  
Outsiders, apart from essential personnel, are not allowed on premises. That includes customers.  
I have yet to see any other business or service provider make even 1/10 the effort Maple Leaf has made to protect it's staff.  
I feel safer at work than I do anywhere else in this city.

Union has to say shut down, they have to look like they care, people don't work = union don't get dues (its just a show).  
 
Most cases people that say conditions are bad are the ones that don't want to be at work in the 1st place.