GAO says
climate of “fear” in chicken plants where refugee workers are part of
the workforce, by Ann Corcoran 12/11/17
We have been reporting for years
about the meatpacking industry, what we call BIG MEAT and BIG CHICKEN, having discovered
the great advantages of hiring immigrant and refugee laborers (foreign-born the
GAO calls them) who will work for lower wages (this industry once did pay good
wages) and complain less than American workers who understand the laws that
protect them.
We believe it is this industry and a
few other large companies in the food processing industry that are the largest
drivers behind the refugee resettlement program and thus the reason that the
Republican-led, Chamber of Commerce-dominated, Congress does not initiate
reform of the US Refugee Admissions Program.
Fundamental question: Should the US
State Department and its nine ‘non-profit’ contractors be supplying refugee
labor to giant global corporations using taxpayer dollars?
Here is news that the GAO actually looked in to the problems in
chicken plants that largely involve workers who fear to report problems
involving safety. The new report is here.
I wonder, do the refugee resettlement agencies that actively place their
refugee “clients” in to meat and chicken plants know about all
this and turn a blind eye.
I’m thinking specifically of Lutheran
Immigration and Refugee Service that
signed contracts recently with JBS
Swift and Tyson Foods to help them acquire and train refugee
workers. So much for humanitarianism!
(After I began writing this post I
found many more stories in other news outlets about the findings, but I had
already snipped this one, maybe not the best one, and was too lazy to start
over!)
From Infozine: For several years, Oxfam and a coalition of allies and experts have
been exposing the dark underbelly of labor conditions in the poultry industry.
Does Linda Hartke, who signed
contracts with two global meatpacking companies, know about the “dark
underbelly of labor conditions” in the plants.
Boston, MA – infoZine – Oxfam’s concerns
were recently confirmed by the GAO, after it conducted direct interviews with
poultry processing workers in five states The central underlying problem is the
pervasive climate of fear inside poultry plants; when workers are afraid to
report issues, OSHA and other inspection agencies are unable to detect or
investigate problems.
Eighteen months after the GAO issued
a report confirming that poultry workers face inordinate health and safety
hazards and that many of these problems go under-reported, a follow-up
investigation calls on all three federal agencies– the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture– to improve ways for workers to
communicate issues without fear of retaliation.
“The health and safety problems that workers face in poultry processing
plants have been exacerbated in the past year due to a growing climate of fear
and oppression in an industry where workers are mostly immigrants, refugees,
and people of color,” said Alex Galimberti, Senior Advocacy and Collaborations
Advisor for Oxfam America.
“Every day, workers experience
problems, such as denial of treatment for repetitive motion injuries, lack of
access to bathroom breaks, and sexual harassment. Most of the time, they feel
unsafe reporting these issues to federal agencies or to top level management.”
By the way there have been lots of
stories lately about small and medium-sized towns fighting the placement of new
meat or poultry plants in their communities. Many citizens object to the
environmental problems and the influx of immigrant /refugee labor drawn to the
town bringing with it cultural upheaval. This is a new angle—health and
safety problems in the workplace.
The five states where plants were
investigated were Arkansas, Delaware, Nebraska, North Carolina, and
Virginia.
Comments
These
companies need to be replaced by highly automated next generation meat
processing companies.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
No comments:
Post a Comment