KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |Jindal visits with Pilgrim Pride workers

Jindal visits with Pilgrim Pride workers

FARMERVILLE, LA (KSLA) -Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal flew to Union Parish Monday afternoon to speak with a group of recently laid off workers of the Pilgrim's Pride Poultry Plant.

At the Farmerville Recreation Center Monday afternoon, it was standing room only as the crowd waited to hear a word of hope from the Governor.

"Right now we're scared to death. We are absolutely scared to death," one laid off worker said.

Just days after Pilgrim's Pride Poultry announced it was temporarily shutting down Farmerville's chicken processing plant, Governor Bobby Jindal and a team of state and community leaders held a meeting.

"We are very concerned about this community, Governor Jindal said."

For growers like Lara Smith, Who have everything invested into Pilgrim's Pride, Governor Jindal's visit was not enough.

"He gave us a little hope, but right now we're so hopeless, said Smith." She went on to say, "We don't know what we're going to do."

Smith's bills total more than $14,000 a month and she is now facing foreclosure on her chicken houses, her home and her property.

Smith says the recent news about Pilgrim's Pride only adds to a grower's problems, "With us growers we have so much debt, we can not go any where to get a job to pay for our monthly notes and the banks aren't going to wait."

Governor Jindal says he is aware of the problems this community faces, and he has been in talks with pilgrim's pride trying to get them to re-open part of the plant or sell the entire operation to another poultry company, but the struggling economy continues to take a toll on our part of the state.

Jindal wants those recently laid off to know that Louisiana government is committed to seeing them through this hard time, "Our state is committed to helping Northeast Louisiana. We can outperform the national economy but we're not immune to what's going on across our country. We will do everything we can to help our families get back on their feet and get through this."

While in Farmerville Jindal made a commitment to do whatever it takes to help those affected by the closing of Pilgrim's Pride.

"First, our state is absolutely committed to working with them to get through these tough times and I know we're resilient tough people. Secondly, we are going to spare no effort as we recover from this. For example, we'll be pursuing tax incentives to help communities who lose their largest employers. We're going after others to see if there's interest in buying parts or all of the facility, said the governor."

Jindal is also looking into federal programs that would help laid off workers and growers in the short term, until a permanent solution comes along.

National emergency grants would give workers access to things like training and childcare assistance, but Lara Smith says she doesn't know how long she can wait for help.

"Right now, we've got one foot in the grave and falling in quick, said Smith."

With 10 weeks to go before the plant is shut down, all that's left is hope that something will change.