Follow-up Investigation By The Government Accountability Office Confirms That Poultry Processing Plants Create A Climate Of Fear, Where Workers Are Afraid To Speak Out

Oxfam’s concerns were recently confirmed by the GAO, after it conducted direct interviews with poultry processing workers in five states. The central underlying problem is the pervasive climate of fear inside poultry plants; when workers are afraid to report issues, OSHA and other inspection agencies are unable to detect or investigate problems.

 

Eighteen months after the GAO issued a report confirming that poultry workers face inordinate health and safety hazards and that many of these problems go under-reported, a follow-up investigation calls on all three federal agencies-- the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-- to improve ways for workers to communicate issues without fear of retaliation.

 

“The health and safety problems that workers face in poultry processing plants have been exacerbated in the past year due to a growing climate of fear and oppression in an industry where workers are mostly immigrants, refugees, and people of color,” said Alex Galimberti, Senior Advocacy and Collaborations Advisor for Oxfam America. “Every day, workers experience problems, such as denial of treatment for repetitive motion injuries, lack of access to bathroom breaks, and sexual harassment. Most of the time, they feel unsafe reporting these issues to federal agencies or to top level management.”

 

Oxfam continues to call on the nation’s top poultry producers to lead the way in addressing these issues and creating systems for workers to safely report violations.

 

The findings from the GAO investigation are similar to those in reports from Oxfam’s two key reports, Lives on the Line and No Relief. In particular, the GAO confirmed that workers are routinely denied access to bathroom breaks, and that workers suffer health problems as a result (sometimes quite grave and potentially life-threatening). Other findings: