Dan Osborn Calls on USDA, DOJ to Enforce Antitrust Law After Tyson Closure Announcement, Spotlights Impact on Lexington Community

Listen to the complete press event below.

LEXINGTON, NE — Today, Independent Candidate for United States Senate Dan Osborn called on the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Justice to file a lawsuit under the Packers and Stockyards Act to compel Tyson to sell its plant to a competitor.

“I know what it feels like, what these folks are going to be going through, what they’re going through right now. When I heard the news of this plant closure, a lot of emotions were coming through me because I’ve been in their shoes before,” Dan Osborn said. “They’ve built their lives around this stable employment and they did everything right. They showed up to work. That’s one of the guarantees of this country. You work hard, you get ahead. Now after giving their best years they’ve been told their jobs are gone.

“What’s happening here in Lexington is affecting more than just the employees in this plant – It touches the businesses in town, it touches the skilled trades, anyone who has anything to do with this plant, it certainly is going to affect their lives. You pull one thread and the whole ecosystem can unravel. Think about what happens when 3,200 paychecks disappear from a town of 11,000. That’s almost 30% of the population. These ripple effects don’t show up in Tyson’s quarterly earning report but they’re real and they’re devastating.

“What I don’t buy is that Tyson is simply just doing good business. This is nothing more than a move to funnel more profit into an already multi-billion dollar industry. I have a Libertarian streak in me where I think smaller government is better government. But the government was also set up by the founders of this country to protect its citizens and what Tyson is doing here is illegal. The Packers and Stockyards Act says it’s against the law to manipulate prices or restrain commerce. Tyson isn’t selling this plant to a competitor, they’re closing it,” Osborn said.

Osborn was joined by Basel Musharbash, an antitrust attorney who has represented farmers in litigation against meat processors under the Packers and Stockyards Act. “I came here from Texas to tell you one thing: Dan Osborn is right. The law is on Lexington’s side,” he said. “The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice can, indeed, file a lawsuit seeking to force Tyson either to keep this plant open or sell it to a competitor who will.”

Musharbash detailed why Tyson may be in violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act, saying that “By shutting down a plant that slaughters such a large portion of the cattle in this region and the country, Tyson will singlehandedly reshape the nation’s cattle markets from boom to bust. With this single decision, Tyson will cut down demand for the cattle raised by ranchers around the country, and it will reduce the number of buyers competing for that cattle, too. As a result, ranchers will be forced to accept lower prices — and Tyson will be able to make higher profits.”

Osborn’s campaign manager kicked off the press conference by reading anonymous stories aloud submitted to the campaign by community members and Tyson employees who feared retribution for speaking out about how they will be impacted by the plant closure. One excerpt from an anonymous 17-year-old resident of Lexington whose parents work at Tyson read: “My parents are the definition of hard work. They gave Tyson their strength, their time, and pieces of their lives that they can never get back. They clocked in early, stayed late, took extra hours whenever the company needed them. They worked in cold rooms, loud machines, long lines, and through pain they never complained about because they believed their sacrifice meant a better future for their children. And now, after years of loyalty, Tyson is walking away from them and from all of us.”

###

Dan Osborn, 50, is a steamfitter and former union leader who gained national attention leading the 77-day Kellogg's strike in Omaha in 2021. A U.S. Navy veteran and father of three, Osborn has spent the last 20 years punching a clock as a steamfitter and industrial mechanic, work that he continues to do while campaigning for Senate. He is running as an independent candidate focused on economic issues affecting working families.