Animal Ag: Human Rights in Slaughterhouses
Slaughterhouses are not known for offering cushy jobs. Still, like all employers, they should provide a safe and healthy work environment, pay worker's comp when their employees are injured on the job, and hire only people who can legally work in the United States. Often, they do none of the above.
David Ward, 49, worked at a Tyson hog plant in a small Iowa town in 2007. Tyson's recruiter met David in Chicago, sold him on what he calls "a nice dream" (including double pay on his birthday), and arranged for him to travel to Iowa to work for $11/hr.
At the hog plant, David had to buy most of his own safety equipment out of his paychecks. He complained that workers had to spend most of their 15 minute breaks taking off and putting on their safety equipment, leaving little time to actually take a break. As a result, workers would run for their breaks, despite the danger of running on floors slick with blood and grease.
David remarked that most workers sported injuries of some sort, whether back pain, neck pain, or tendinitis. David got tendinitis in his right hand, so painful he was not able to make a fist, which lasted about a month during his time working in the plant. He felt that the injured workers should be transferred to light detail until they healed, but often they were not.
The cause for the high incidence of injuries was the high speed of the line. On a fast line, one would have to handle one ham every 11 seconds. On a slow line, every 15 seconds. "By the time you touch a ham, you need to let it go," David said, "but you should've done everything required first." He also noted that the plant threw nothing away - even meat that fell on the floor.
David reported a urinary tract problem to his supervisors, telling them that he has little ability to "hold it" when he needs to use the restroom. Still, his supervisors asked him to wait when he requested a bathroom break. David urinated on himself. This occurred twice before his supervisors let him use the restroom when he needed.
David's employment at Tyson ended shortly after he fell and broke his ankle on Tyson property while riding his bike to work. It was winter and Tyson did not salt or plow to remove the ice and snow. David immediately reported to the medical office, where Tyson made him wait FOUR HOURS (while in pain) as they intimidated him. They tested him for drugs and alcohol, then had him write two statements describing his accident, and threatened to check security videos to verify that he was indeed on their property (therefore making Tyson liable) when he fell.
After his accident, Tyson assigned David to light detail. Then they fired him. The benefits the recruiter promised him were set to begin after he was employed for 90 days. He was fired on day 92.
Unfortunately, David is not unique. Nor is the hog plant where he worked. The working conditions he experienced are fairly standard for the industry, which relies largely on immigrant labor. Unlike so many meatpacking workers, David is an American citizen. As such, he has no fears of deportation and he has gotten a lawyer to sue Tyson for worker's comp. An undocumented worker would have no such recourse - one trait that makes them attractive employees to meatpacking plants.
To read more stories like David's check out the links below or read the books Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and Diet for a Dead Planet by Christopher D. Cook.
Recipe for America requests that OSHA performs adequate oversight over the meatpacking industry to ensure that workers are no longer subjected to inhumane treatment. Also, as safety increases when the speed of the line decreases in these plants, the government should set a reasonable standard to provide for worker safety. Last, we request greater penalties for management of companies found to hire undocumented workers.
More information
A Slaughterhouse Nightmare: Psychological Harm Suffered by Slaughterhouse Employees and the Possibility of Redress through Legal Reform (report)Abuses Against Workers Taint U.S. Meat and Poultry (article) Human Rights Watch, January 25, 2005
Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers’ Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants (article) Human Rights Watch, January 2005
DailyKos: An Injured Meatpacker Blows the Whistle on Tyson (blog entry) February 17, 2008.
Diet for A Dead Planet: How the Food Industry is Killing Us by Christopher D. Cook (book)
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser (book)
GAO: Safety in the Meat and Poultry Industry, While Improving, Could Be Further Strengthened (PDF) (book) January 27, 2005
NYT: A Medical Mystery Unfolds in Minnesota (article) Workers at an MN pork processing plant who handle brains come down with a strange disease. February 5, 2008.
UTNE: Undercover in a Chicken Factory (article) January/February 2004.
WaPo: Meatpacking's Human Toll (article) August 3, 2005
