The Midwest Coalition for Human Rights its committed to researching, drawing attention to, and addressing the serious human rights violations occuring in meat and poultry plants around the country. The below resources identify some of the violations that meat and poultry workers face workers face on a daily basis.

Nebraska Appleseed Testimony on Worker Health and Safety

On May 4, 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened its doors to stakeholders from around the country for an all-day “OSHA Listens” event in its Washington, DC headquarters. At this event, Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest testified on policy changes by OSHA to improve health and safety conditions for meat and poultry workers. Read our testimony and media coverage of the event.

The purpose of the event was for OSHA to receive comments and suggestions on key issues facing the agency in order to improve OSHA’s efforts to protect the safety and health of workers. The agency was particularly interested in specific actions it can take to enhance the voice of workers in the workplace, particularly workers who are hard to reach, who do not have ready access to information about hazards or their rights, or who are afraid to exercise their rights. Stakeholders presented their ideas, suggestions and comments to Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels, Chief of Staff Deborah Berkowitz, Director of Enforcement Richard Fairfax, and Director of Standards Dorothy Dougherty.

For footage of this event, click here

Information provided by Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest

“The Speed Kills You”: The Voice of Nebraska’s Meatpacking Workers

Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest released a report in October 2009 titled, “The Speed Kills You”: The Voice of Nebraska’s Meatpacking Workers, with detailed results of a survey of over 455 meatpacking workers across the State of Nebraska. The report finds that workers’ greatest concern was the safety risks created by unrelenting speed of work and repetitive motion—a combination of line speed and insufficient staffing on the line. Workers also expressed concerns about high injury rates, supervisory abuse and humiliation, the lack of neutrality of medical staff in the plants, and the denial of reasonable use of the bathroom. Hundreds of written comments submitted in the surveys presents an upsetting human picture of constant pain, verbal abuse, workers forced to defecate and urinate in their pants on the line, and the extreme toll taken by work conditions endured by thousands and thousands of workers.

Blood, Sweat, and Fear - Workers' Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants

Human Rights Watch released this report in 2004, detailing the challenges workers face in the meat and poultry packing industry.  As the report makes clear, many companies are consistently violating their employee's rights and the United States government is doing little to address the issue.  The report outlines the problem and offers recommendations on how it can be addressed.