By Elizabeth Elkin and Michael Hirtzer

Workers at a Tyson Foods Inc. poultry plant in Van Buren, Arkansas, are striking to demand better conditions as labor at the facility grows tight before a scheduled closure in May.

Since Tyson announced it would shutter the under-performing plant, many employees have left. That’s forced the remaining workers to cover multiple jobs while facing new restrictions on time off, according to Venceremos, a worker organization that says it advocates for Arkansas poultry employees and supports the strike. The group posted video of workers picketing on Facebook.

Tyson in a statement said that the plant was still operating Monday. Workers who stay at the plant until it closes will receive a $1,000 bonus. The company is also helping with relocation assistance and is ensuring employees have the option to apply for open positions at other Tyson facilities. Team members with unused vacation or holiday time earned prior to the plant’s closing will be paid in full, the company said.

The top US meat company by sales in March said it would close the plant and another one in Virginia in an effort to strengthen its chicken business that has struggled with too much supply flooding the market.

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