Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Live-hang workers thus have the “laborious, unpleasant and
hazardous job” of “constantly and rapidly lift[ing] bunches of
chickens . . . to overhead hooks to begin the slaughtering and dis-
assembly process.” Some of the hazards this creates for workers
are caused by inadequate lighting, too-fast line speeds, and poor
ergonomics. Many of the dangers created by live hanging result
from workers having to turn still-conscious birds upside down and
shackle them on an overhead conveyor line. The birds' reactions
include scratching, pecking, biting, urinating, and defecating on
workers.
While many workplace injuries go unreported, in 2004 almost
20,000 poultry slaughterhouse workers reported occupational
illnesses or injuries severe enough to warrant missing work or
seeking medical care. The poultry processing industry had the
sixth-highest rate of occupational illness and injury of any private
industry that year. Researchers at Wake Forest University School
of Medicine have also found that rates for carpal tunnel syndrome
and similar medical conditions have been on the rise among poul-
try slaughterhouse workers despite their decline among workers
in other manufacturing industries.
In a letter to KFC, former slaughterhouse worker Virgil Butler
wrote: “I worked at the Tyson plant in Grannis, Arkansas, from July,
1997, until November 12, 2002. I worked on the night shift in the
Receiving department as a live-hanger as well as on the kill-floor. I
personally witnessed many acts of cruelty toward the chickens by
employees of the plant on a nightly basis. . . . We were extremely
shorthanded, due to the horrendous working conditions. This led
to a high turnover rate with inexperienced, frustrated, workers un-
der pressure to keep the production numbers up. If production fell,
it would mean overtime work, so the belt speed was turned up.
This resulted in the belt becoming overloaded in the area where
the chickens awaited shackling, which ended up smothering hun-
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