15 U.S. Reps Urge OSHA to Create National Program to Crack Down On Abusive Labor Practices in the Poultry Industry

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today led 15 members of the House of Representatives in urging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to crack down on abusive labor practices in the poultry industry. Their letter to OSHA head David Michaels can be read here and comes on the heels of a newly released Oxfam America report detailing the prevalence of harsh working environments in poultry processing plants and calling on the top four American poultry companies to improve worker safety.

“Repetitive motions, excessively fast line speeds, lack of restroom and rest breaks, knife cuts, slippery floors, hazardous chemicals, dangerous equipment, and exposure to high noise levels are among the many serious safety and health hazards that poultry and meat processing workers face,” the representatives wrote. “Employees that handle live birds are sometimes exposed to poultry feces and have even a higher risk for disease.”

“Moreover, workers are under enormous pressure to not report injuries, leading to underreporting, a systemic problem across the country,” they continued. “The risks facing poultry processing and meatpacking workers have become a national challenge, with dangerous work sites touching nearly every region across the country.”

Earlier this month, OSHA announced it would start a regional enforcement program at all worksites in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas and certain worksites in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and New Mexico.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, poultry workers were injured at a rate 1.5 times higher than all workers and meatpacking workers at a rate twice as high as other workers in 2012. Musculoskeletal disorders are of particular concern among these workers as the incidence rate of occupational illness cases reported in the poultry industry in 2011 and 2012 has remained high, at more than five times the average for all United States industries.


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