SIGN THE PETITION:

Press inbox

USDA FSIS

Dear USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Mindy Brashears,

I am writing to urge you to stop putting worker safety in jeopardy by ending your agency’s policies that allow production line speed increases in meat plants.

I ask you to end your agency’s policies, including revoking waivers to poultry plants and ending the new hog rule, which allow for increased line speeds and could put workers at serious risk of harm.

In a new report, Human Rights Watch concluded that workers at U.S. meat slaughtering and processing plants can be at risk of serious, potentially life-threatening, injury, and illness. Nearly all of the workers Human Rights Watch interviewed identified the same factor that makes their job dangerous: speed.

For decades, rapid work speed in the meat and poultry industry has been linked to increased risk of injury and illness, yet the pace of work remains fast and is getting faster at some plants. Some workers told us they faced constant pressure from their supervisors to keep up with production, sometimes with insults and humiliation. A few workers shared stories of colleagues wearing diapers because their supervisors refused to let them leave the line to use the restroom during their shift.

Meat workers already suffer some of the highest rates of occupational injury and illness in the U.S. Between 2015 and 2018, a worker in the industry lost a body part or was sent to the hospital for in-patient treatment about every other day. And between 2013 and 2017, an average of eight meat workers died each year because of an incident at their plant.

Despite these dangerous conditions, the U.S. government is further weakening oversight of worker safety in the industry and lifting caps on maximum slaughter line speeds, giving the green light for companies to speed up production even further.

By relaxing regulations on line speeds and undermining federal oversight of the industry, the U.S. government could increase the risk to workers of serious, even life-threatening injury and illness.

The U.S. government should not ignore the human impact of its policies. It’s time the government take steps to improve oversight and regulation to keep U.S. meatpacking workers safe.

You have the power to prevent workers' conditions from getting worse. I urge you to stop endangering America's meat workers and end your agency's policies that lift caps on maximum line speeds in meat plants.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}
{user_data~State}

First Name

Last Name

Country

State

Email Address

Advocacy