Specific Policies:

There are currently no specific labor standards for the meatpacking industry.^[1]

Meatpackers are expected to adhere voluntarily to recommendations.  The Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) is the US government that sets and enforces labor standards.  OSHA entered into a formal alliance with American Meat Institute (AMI), the meatpacking industry trade group from 2002 to 2008 to allow AMI to set industry recommendations.  It is not easy for the public to find the content of these recommendations.  The OHSA website links to the recommendations in the AMI website.  The AMI, however, restricts access to the document only to AMI members. 

The AMI openly opposes the application of OSHA standards to the meatpacking industry.^[2] Months after the alliance between OSHA and AMI ended, on March 27th, AMI drafted a letter to President Obama offering “the scientific and food safety expertise of the American Meat Institute and its members to participate in and contribute to [the] administration’s Food Safety Working Group.” ^[3]

Applicable Policies:

As stated, OSHA has no standards specific to the meatpacking industry. 

The general labor standard that applies to the meatpacking industry is:

Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, often referred to as the General Duty Clause, requires employers to "furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees". Section 5(a)(2) requires employers to "comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act".

There are also several ergonomic and workplace safety standards that can be applied to the meatpacking industry including: Walking-working surfaces, Occupational noise exposure, Materials handling and storage, Machinery and machine guarding, Hand and portable powered tools and other hand-held equipment.

Also, a “directive” around protective gear has been applied directly to retail meat cutters, but not meatpacking line workers.^[4]

Enforcement:

While OSHA is responsible for assessing compliance with the general occupational health standards mentioned above, the lack of specific standards for meat-packing means that OSHA has little criteria to work with when assessing a meat-packing plant.

Other enforcement issues include:

• Infrequent visits
• Relying on injury and illness data that under-represents reality because of the relationship between the employer and the first line medical attention
• OHSA visits are announced ahead of time allowing employers to slow the line during inspection
• Few staff at local enforcement offices^[5]

Recommendations:

The line-worker advocacy community tends to recommend that new federal and state laws be established to reduce line speed in meat and poultry plants as well as new ergonomics standards to reduce repetitive stress injuries. They also believe that health and safety authorities should apply stronger enforcement measures and develop stronger worker compensation laws and enforcement mechanisms.^[6]

References:

1. See OSHA Website

2. AMI website

3. AMI website: AMI Letter to President Applauds Creation of Food Safety Working Group

4. OHSA website: Meatpacking Industry

5. GAO report 96-05 “Safety in the Meat and Poultry Industry, while Improving, Could Be Further Strengthened”

6. Human Rights Watch, “Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers’ Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants” 2005.

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