The United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union have partnered in a lawsuit against USDA that aims to end line speed waivers for poultry processing plants.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the lawsuit targets seven line speed waivers that the Food Safety Inspection Service (FISIS) granted to poultry plants in September 2019 and April 2020.
The waivers, which allowed plants to increase line speeds from 140 birds per minute to 175 birds per minute, were issued to the following plants:
• Tyson poultry plants in Robards, Ky.; and Corydon, Ind.; Dardanelle, Ark.; Noel, Mo.; and Forest, Miss.
• Wayne Farms poultry plants in Laurel, Miss.; Albertville, Ala.; Danville, Ark.; Jack, Ala.; Decatur, Ala.
“As COVID-19 continues to infect thousands of meatpacking workers, it is stunning that 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,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone.
Line speeds have, in recent weeks, become a hot-button issue for lawmakers and activists seeking to reform the meat industry. Earlier in July, a proposed agriculture funding bill from the House of Representatives sought to reverse poultry plant line speed waivers, and prohibit any further waivers. And this week, Sen. Cory Booker introduced legislation that goes even further – the Safe Line Speeds in COVID-19 Act would suspend all current and future line speed waivers for all meatpacking plants.
To access Meatingplace’s ongoing coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here. To access our map of processing plants that have reported positive tests among employees, have closed and/or have reopened, click here.