Source: NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT LAW PROJECT, 6/17/20


Introduction
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has approved the requests of 15 large poultry plants to squeeze workers even closer together on production lines and increase line speeds. This will endanger the health and lives of poultry workers and the people in their communities, who are already being hit hard by COVID-19.

Publicly available data reveal that all 15 plants have a record of severe injuries (including amputations), were cited for violations by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, and/or are the site of a recent COVID-19 outbreak (see Figure). Over half the plants have seen recent COVID-19 outbreaks,[i] with one plant reporting a worker fatality and another plant closing shortly after the USDA decision due to the rampant spread of COVID-19.

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