Meatpacking Worker Health & Safety
Core Values | Common Ground | Equal Justice
Meatpacking workers face some of the most hazardous work conditions in the country. Illness and injury rates in meatpacking are double that of all U.S. manufacturing (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2005), and according to a 2005 Government Accountability Study, underreporting of injuries is a serious problem in available data. A 2005 Human Rights Watch Report also drew the conclusion that there are widespread human rights abuses in the U.S. meat and poultry industries.
Appleseed Releases Report on Nebraska’s Meatpacking Workers Bill of Rights
One hundred years after Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and six years after Governor Mike Johanns signed the Nebraska Meatpacking Industry Workers Bill of Rights to improve safety in Nebraska’s leading industry, Nebraska Appleseed set out to determine whether this unique state-level policy has been making a difference. In a new report released today, “Dignity on the Line: An Evaluation of the Nebraska Meatpacking Workers Bill of Rights,” Appleseed finds that the policy has been an important first step but that there is significant work yet to be done.
Read the Full Appleseed Report | Read the Executive Summary
Safe food comes from a safe workplace: Release of “Fast Food Nation” puts meatpacking work conditions back in public eye
The release of the movie Fast Food Nation again puts meatpacking, Nebraska’s leading industry, in the public eye. The movie tells the story of how billions of burgers go from the ranch to the fast food consumer - which is to say, to each and every one of us. Those burgers, of course, don’t just materialize out of thin air, neatly packaged with a side of fries. There are a lot of stories behind that burger, including how it comes from the sweat and tears of thousands of low-paid, mostly immigrant Latino workers in towns and cities across Nebraska and other major meatpacking states. Read the Full Appleseed Statement
Download a printable Post Card to Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns. Tell him to Slow Down The Line!
Worker Rights During Immigration Enforcement Raids
Know Your Rights English (UFCW)
Know Your Rights/Conozca Sus Derechos Español (UFCW)
Know Your Rights Wallet Card English-Español (UFCW)
Know Your Rights at Home and at Work English | Español
(Ejecución de las Leyes de Inmigración: Conozca sus derechos en su hogar y su trabajo respecto a Inmigración) (National Immigration Law Center)
Know Your Rights if You Have Been Arrested or Detained by the U.S. Government English | Español
(CASA of Maryland)
