Posts Categorized: Poultry

On Sept. 3, the UFCW, along with Senator Cory Booker (N.J.) and Representative Marcia Fudge (Ohio), announced their opposition to a proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulation that increases line speeds in poultry plants across America.  Current line speeds are about 140 birds per minute and the proposed regulation allows plants to operate at up to 175 birds per minute.

In 2017, the USDA considered a petition from the National Chicken Council to eliminate line speed limits. That effort was ultimately rejected after an outpouring of opposition from workers and consumers. Since then, the USDA has continued to approve record numbers of waivers to allow individual plants to operate at dangerously fast speeds despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UFCW has been a leading national voice for strengthening safeguards in these plants, which have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and our union and Public Citizen recently filed a lawsuit to stop this dangerous practice and prevent further line speed waivers in the poultry industry.

Senator Booker, along with Representative Fudge, introduced “The Safe Line Speeds in COVID-19 Act” to ensure that USDA protects worker safety by ending this practice.

“Fast line speeds worsen already unsafe conditions on slaughter lines and make it nearly impossible for workers to socially distance,” said Representative Fudge. “In fact, nearly all of the poultry plants that the USDA allowed to operate faster line speeds this spring have been cited for worker safety violations or experienced COVID outbreaks. In the middle of a pandemic, the USDA should be prioritizing worker safety.  Congress must act now and pass my Safe Line Speeds in COVID-19 Act to block the USDA from increasing poultry line speeds and putting the health and safety of the meatpacking workforce at greater risk.”

“Despite a surge of COVID-19 outbreaks in meatpacking plants across the country, the USDA continued to grant line speed request waivers that threatened the health and safety of workers, their families, and consumers,” said Senator Booker. “The USDA has now proposed to permanently increase line speeds in poultry plants—an action that is both dangerous and irresponsible. Now is the time, more than ever, that we pass the Safe Line Speeds in COVID-19 Act and protect workers and communities from the harm of these reckless giveaways to corporate agribusiness.”  

“The hard-working men and women of America’s poultry industry deserve safe workplaces,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone. “As our country’s poultry workers have been battling a pandemic, they should not have to also battle USDA seeking to make their workplaces less safe. Slower line speeds keep workers safer from injuries and ensure safe social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus. The USDA must end its reckless efforts to increase line speeds, and instead put the safety of America’s workers and food supply first.”

The UFCW and five local unions represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group filed a federal lawsuit on July 28 to end the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) waivers allowing poultry plants to increase production line speeds and further endanger workers already facing elevated risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The five local unions that are plaintiffs in this case – UFCW Locals 227, 1529,  1995,  2008 and RWDSU Mid-South Council – represent more than 35,000 poultry workers at processing plants in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi and Missouri.

The plaintiffs argue that the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) waiver program should be set aside and 10 currently active waivers should be voided. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the USDA failed to follow required procedures and ignored the agency’s own rules and policies when it adopted the waiver program.

“America’s poultry workers have been on the frontlines of this pandemic since day one, putting themselves in harm’s way to make sure our families have the food we need during this crisis,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a statement. “As COVID-19 continues to infect thousands of meatpacking workers, it is stunning that the USDA is further endangering these workers by allowing poultry companies to increase line speeds to dangerous new levels that increase the risk of injury and make social distancing next to impossible. This lawsuit will help to finally stop this dangerous corporate giveaway from the USDA. Now more than ever, we must put the safety of frontline workers and our country’s food supply first.”

“The law is clear that an agency must follow proper procedures when adopting a new program and must consider and address all relevant factors, including its own prior positions on the same issue,” said Nandan Joshi, the Public Citizen attorney serving as lead counsel on the case. “FSIS did not follow these basic rules when it decided to allow more poultry plants to exceed the agency’s own regulatory line speed limits.”

The UFCW and Public Citizen have been leading the national effort to pressure the USDA to strengthen corporate oversight in meatpacking and increase safeguards to protect workers and ensure our country’s food supply is secure. In July 2020, UFCW announced its support for new legislation in Congress to roll back dangerous line speed increases across the meatpacking industry. And in October 2019, the UFCW and Public Citizen filed a federal lawsuit to challenge the USDA’s rule allowing pork plants to increase line speeds.

You can read the full text of the lawsuit that was filed on July 28 here.