Big Businesses, Bad Conditions?
An inside look of conditions in a local meat packing factory
Bad Conditions?
After taking a tour of the local meat packing company, I discovered working conditions that I never thought I'd see. Workers were lined up along a "disassembly line" waiting for the carcass to reach them and carrying out their assigned duty, such as "leg breakers" or "gutters".The hot, dark, unventilated room floor was covered with blood, meat scraps, and dirty water. There are no bathrooms available for workers, meaning they have to use the corner of the room as the bathroom. Many workers have skin diseases and other illnesses and still come to work in order to pay for food for the week. They also have no access to proper sanitary supplies to clean their work space during the day, creating an environment for bacteria to thrive.
Workers preforming their assigned duty of disassembly
Workers transporting meat to the curing area of the factory
Treated Unfairly?
Workers revealed that they struggle to pay for food each week because they are often not fairly paid, even though they work 20 or more hours a week. Workers are not paid for working part of an hour and many are close to falling into poverty. Strikes have been held demanding better wages and working conditions, to no avail. Companies then took those who went on strike and simply replaced them, leaving them to find another source of income. Workers are hoping that someone will eventually step up and come to their rescue, but until then, they are stuck working in dirty, unsanitary factories.