Statement From Osborn: What Has Ricketts’ Team Learned About Tyson’s Potential Anti-Trust Violations?

OMAHA, NE — Today, Independent U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn released the following statement:

“The day after I called on the DOJ to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act, Pete Ricketts told members of the press his team was ‘taking a look at’ any wrongdoing by Tyson in violation of the antitrust law.

“A month has gone by and, once again, it’s crickets from Ricketts. While we’ve waited for answers, thousands of workers in Lexington have urgently been making other plans for their families and searching for opportunities elsewhere.

“So, I would like to pose the question: What has Ricketts’ team found? Do they believe this is or is not a violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act? Why or why not?”

Background information:

On December 10, 2025, Dan Osborn was joined by an antitrust attorney for a press conference in Lexington where he laid out the details of Tyson’s potential violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act. Following the press conference, the conversation surrounding the plant closure expanded to include questions about possible violations of federal antitrust law, with increasing focus on corporate accountability rather than accepting the closure as inevitable.

Prior to Ricketts admission that there may have been a violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act, his campaign quickly characterized Osborn’s advocacy for the soon-to-be-unemployed Tyson workers as “political grandstanding.”

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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.