If anybody ever was to
think about slaughterhouses, nothing but bad things can be thought of. From the
bad working conditions to the bad working conditions. Today, U.S.
slaughterhouses and “meat”-processing facilities employ over 500,000
workers. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the
number of slaughterhouses nationwide declined to 809 in 2008 from 1,211 in
1992, while the number of small farmers has increased by 108,000 in the past
five years. An unknown percentage of workers are undocumented. Many employers
knowingly hire undocumented workers in an effort to satisfy the extremely high
turnover rate of the industry, which often exceeds 100% annually.
Fewer slaughterhouses
to process local meat means less of it in butcher shops, grocery stores and
restaurants. Most workers are “at-will” employees, meaning they can be easily
fired at a supervisor’s discretion. The threat of termination discourages
workers from reporting safety concerns, injuries, or other serious issues.
Supervisors use a variety of intimidation tactics to suppress workers’ concerns
and make it clear that other people are always available to replace them. As a
result, workers are conditioned to accept a hazardous and demeaning work environment
if they want to remain employed. So many things are known about these conditions
but nothing gets done simply because what can you really do. People have to
eat. You can’t just let a nation died. I would like for things to be more
cleaner with more regulations that get followed. But I probably wont get that.
And neither will this nation.
-Amandar!
Le Sources:
1) http://www.foodispower.org/slaughterhouse-workers/
2) http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/130410/usa___shortage_of_slaughterhouses_.aspx
I agree with what you are saying. It's all very true they use the undocumented workers for their dirty work because they are convenient and cheap and are in no position to judge what the companies are doing. Its sad that the workers have to go through this but it's the harsh truth of what goes on in life. To Your last thing i understand people have to eat but i feel not everyone has to eat the foods they produce i feel like there could be an alternative. i feel like something can be done but it can only be done if we the people decide to do something about it. But as we continue to do nothing about it nothing will change. To make change you have to fight for it. Okay these companies are being exposed but what are the people doing about it after they find out what's going on with their foods. Some become vegans but not a lot. And then some complain about say how its gross and how could the government let this happen, and then does nothing about it. Maybe things will change when we all decide to do something about ehh but who knows.
ReplyDelete-Iyona L.
http://www.farmforward.com/farming-forward/factory-farming
Comment Score: 17/20
ReplyDeleteVIEWPOINT: I agree with this completely and I never thought about how supervisors really manipulate there workers to keep them from saying anything about these slaughterhouses and there conditions. Writing on others blogs I've been thinking that nothing being done about these conditions are the workers faults but I never thought about how much impact these supervisors have, And the fact that they are trying to keep these things a secret and using peoples jobs as a threat is not okay! but like you said Amanda although we want things with food corporations and slaughterhouses to change it never will.
ReplyDeleteEVIDENCE: (http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2012/nov/21/upstate-new-york-immigrant-farmworkers-are-hidden-part-locally-grown-food-movement/) They make undocumented workers work hard, pay them little and have them keep and still threaten there job.
@Amanda: Is us saying that we know things won't change the reason why things never change? because nobody is willing?
Comment Score: 19/20
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a great point. These workers need to make a living. These people have families who need to eat and be supported. A lot of them are immigrants and have no other options. There's absolutely no way that they're going to risk giving up their job. That's especially because a lot of them are "at will" workers like you said. It puts them in a tough position. What would you do in that situation? Preserve your job and family's well-being or the nation; something so huge, that probably take forever to create some stir.
ReplyDeleteThe way the world works it's survival of the fittest. These immigrant workers especially can't tell anything because they'd also be putting themselves at risk of deportation. The companies capitalize on this and will continue to because they know that the immigrants won't ever take the risk.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2001/07/dangerous-meatpacking-jobs-eric-schlosser
http://boingboing.net/2012/03/08/working-undercover-in-a-slaugh.html
--Joseph
Comment Score: 19/20
ReplyDelete