Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #117505

Jacqueline Nowell, United Food and Commercial Workers Interantional Union, 1775 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006-1598, 202 466-1502, jnowell@ufcw.org

In many ways little has changed in the meatpacking industry since Upton Sinclair's 1906 muckraking novel The Jungle. However, multinationals have taken the place of U.S.-based meat companies; Eastern Europeans have been replaced by immigrants from Mexico, Central America and Asia; and carpal tunnel syndrome is now the common injury, rather than blood poisoning. Factories that slaughter chickens and food processing plants that make ready-to-eat food were unheard of in Upton Sinclair's turn of the century America. Nearly 400,000 work in the meatpacking, poultry and food processing industry. They tend to be young, male, and immigrant, many undocumented, mostly from Mexico and Central America. The industry uses immigration status to repress workers' exercise of rights. Jobs in this industry pay little and are kept low-skill in order to keep wages from rising. 2001 statistics find nearly one in five workers is injured, twice the rate across all U.S. manufacturing. The most frequent injury suffered by workers is a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD). Cuts and amputations from knives and saws, injuries from falls on slippery floors, burns, hearing loss, and infections are the most common injuries. Line speeds, high turnover and lack of training all contribute to injuries. Under the laws of some states, undocumented workers are ineligible for workers' compensation coverage. Two reports issued in early 2005, one by the GAO and the other by Human Rights Watch recommend government action to protect the workers, reduce line speed and prevent MSDs.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of this session, participants will have learned about working conditions in the food industry, reviewed injury and fatality statistics, and have a better understanding of the needs of immigrant workers.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.