Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere – Los Angeles
Food Justice
Food Processing Companies Need to Treat Workers Like Humans, Not Machines
01 year ago
Can you imagine being severely hurt at your job, then going to the company doctor only to be told that you’re fine and you need to return back to work immediately? This is what happens to many immigrants and refugees in the food processing plants around the Midwest. When I first came to Southeast Iowa about two and half years ago, the first person I met was Juan*. He approached me in town because he had not seen me there before, and he invited me to his house. As we talked I learned of his story.
He told me of being injured at work; a deep cut on his left thumb. He showed me the doctor’s report which read, “3 inch cut, on left thumb, applied band aid and gave him two, ibuprofen”… “worker was sent back to the line to cut meat on the processing line.”
I thought to myself, ‘this is so barbaric!’ I thought it was an isolated incident; it wasn’t.
Over the last few years I have been able to help workers receive a little justice for their injuries. The sad part of this is that not only do they get hurt, but some workers are fired not long after sustaining an injury. There was a time or two I attempted get workers their jobs back, but had no success.
I began to understand that the workers in this industry were merely seen as production tools by these companies. It’s not taken into account that they are humans who are working at high speed, doing the same repetitious work over and over again for eight to ten hours a day. The workers describe this as, “humans competing against machines.”
The reason for the high rate of injuries is primarily due to the high speed of the line and also inadequate supplies, such dull knives and other equipment that wears out quickly.
Time has passed and nothing has changed. Just earlier this month a worker named Felipe* had sustained an injury nine months back on his hand; it was carpal-tunnel syndrome. While he has been going to therapy, he had not gotten any better and has been doing the same task at work, cutting up meat for at least eight hours a day. Finally we found him representation and he was able to get a surgery. Felipe did lots of paperwork prior to his surgery and was approved for a week of recuperation by the state’s workers’ compensation agency. After Felipe was done with his surgery and was ready to go home the company doctor told him he needed to return to work, because he could due “light duty work”.
Shocked by the doctor’s request, Felipe had no choice but to do what the doctor said for fear of losing his job. He returned to work and the pain in his hand also returned. He called me the next day and informed me about what had taken place. I was appalled and sad. After talking with him I began speaking with other workers, asking them if this had ever happened to them. All the workers whom I knew had been injured in the past, and they all reported to me that this had happened to them. They also reported that it was common practice for the plant’s doctors to send them back to work immediately.
Felipe has been interested in the Health Action Councils, which have been emerging out of our work here in Southeast Iowa. He feels like he cannot do this on his own and is looking for support from other workers. Felipe and his co-workers feel that this treatment is wrong and want to expose companies that do not report injuries to the state and do not adhere to labor laws. He also wants to continue to help this nation by doing his work.
Food processing companies should respect and be responsible to workers and consumers. These doctors should respect the dignity of each patient, no matter who employs them.
*Names changed for privacy.
Racism Rampant in Food Production
01 year ago
Traveling in western Kansas, where the bad odor from big feed lots and meat processing plants is present in several communities, I held conversations with immigrant workers who mainly work in feed yards, dairy, land fields, restaurants, and processing plants.
Several times they expressed that they feel racism is present in their workplaces and how they’ve been discriminated against because of the color of their skin.
They comment that at some companies, having dark skin automatically put them at a disadvantage when it came to distribution of jobs. This, they say, is the case in meat processing plants where the most dangerous and difficult jobs are given to immigrants or refugee workers of color, and the less dangerous, easier jobs to white workers.
When it came to bathroom breaks or permits for a day off to attend to medical appointments, the workers I spoke to believe it is easier for white workers to receive them, but immigrants and refugee workers have to ask for permits with more advance notice and sometimes the permits are denied. When it comes to promotions, if it is between white and non-white workers competing for the same position, the white worker is more likely to get it.
In a conversation with Mr. Mario (name changed for his safety) who is the owner/operator of a semi-truck and contractor for an ethanol plant, he told me it was obvious that the company gives more contracts to the white owners than contractors of colors.
In the U.S. the food industry represents one of the biggest industries in the country and a big part of the workforce is immigrants and workers of color.
This industry is one in which low wages, exploitation and abuses are utilized to bring food from the fields and processing plants to the finest restaurants all across the country.
Racismo Inminente en la Produccion de Comida
Realizando un viaje por el oeste del estado de Kansas, donde la presencia del mal olor es inminente debido a los criaderos de vacas y plantas procesadoras de carne, recorriendo las diferentes comunidades en esa región y sosteniendo diferentes conversaciones con trabajadores inmigrantes quienes laboran en su mayoría en criaderos de vacas, lecherías, campos agrícolas, restaurantes, plantas productoras de etanol y plantas procesadoras de carne, en repetidas ocasiones he escuchado de boca de estos trabajadores expresar como el sentimiento racista y discriminatorio esta presente en sus lugares de trabajo.
Es muy notorio que siempre en varias compañías el hecho de ser de piel obscura automáticamente pone a los trabajadores en desventaja a la hora de la distribución de trabajos, tal es el caso de las plantas procesadoras de carne en donde los trabajos mas difíciles los realizan trabajadores inmigrantes o refugiados de color y los mas fáciles y menos riesgosos son otorgados a trabajadores blancos.
Cuando se trata de obtener un permiso para obtener un permiso para asistir a una cita medica o la necesidad de estar ausente un día en el trabajo, en repetidas ocasiones he escuchado mencionar que a los trabajadores blancos se los otorgan sin ningún problema mientras que a los de color con mas dificultad o aveces le son negados, en el momento de promociones o alguna posición mejor, el trabajador de color esta en desventaja ante el trabajador blanco.
En mi conversación con el señor Mario quien es dueño y operador de un camión de carga expresaba su descontento porque el ve que a el y a sus compañeros latinos le son otorgados menos viajes que a sus compañeros blancos, representando menos ingresos económicos para los operadores latinos.
En los Estados unidos la industria de la comida representa una de las industrias mas grandes en el país y en buena parte de ella la fuerza laboral esta conformada por trabajadores inmigrantes y de color, lastimosamente esta industria también es una de las industrias en las cuales la explotación de trabajadores y las bajas tarifas de pago son inminentes desde los campos de cultivo y plantas procesadoras hasta los mas finos restaurantes en todo el país.
Divided Workers Can Come Together
01 year ago
When I entered the workforce as a young adult, I had to learn to navigate professional relationships and sometimes conflicts. I have been fortunate enough to be upfront with my differences or conflicts, even with people in more powerful positions than me. Unfortunately, in places such as meatpacking plants or other factories where there are immigrants, refugees and other workers of color who are earning low wages and little to no other fringe benefits, this is not possible.
I would like to tell you a story of two unlikely friends, in an unlikely place, who found themselves in the same situation. These two fellows were not free to express opinions or disagreements in their workplace. Both were trying to work hard in order to feed their families, one is a Latino man named Jose and the other an African American man named Fred, both lead workers. Jose started working at this place about five years ago, the African American about six months ago. Jose had been waiting for a small promotion to become head of a particular line. Fred came in and worked hard and was able to attain the position within 35 days. Nevertheless, no one can blame him.
After talking with him and trying to help him get to know the area, I went with him to visit some towns nearby. While talking to me, he said “I don’t understand why the Latino people on my line won’t talk to me ever since I became head of the line.”
I asked him, “Have you been treating the rest of your crew differently since you took over the line?” He said, “No.” After talking a while he came up with an answer that made sense. His answer was, “they are probably mad at me because I’ve been there the shortest amount of time and the management gave me that position, without me ever bidding for it.” Bidding for a job is when workers tell management that they want to be in charge of a certain duty or area, and they have a tryout open for all.
In these situations, immigrant and other workers of color are often pitted against each other to compete for meager raises. They will do whatever it takes to win favors, so that they can be chosen to head a line or a crew. For many that might mean putting up with petty abuses from supervisors or even doing other unreasonable or undesirable tasks. For many, it could also mean being at odds with the co-worker next to them who is also struggling to make ends meet.
These corporations have perfected the practice of putting one group of people against another. It’s commonly known as dividing and conquering. They do this to maintain power, so that the two groups won’t support each other. Instead it leads to constant fighting with one another.
Fred and Jose agreed to meet with me. We were able to talk about and better understand the structure in which they are forced to work. As a first step we were able to build some basic trust to continue to break barriers. This won’t solve all the problems they face by working in a hostile environment. But it’s a step towards a better future.
Leaders Work to Counter Harsh Realities of Meat Packing
02 years ago
by Garat Ibrahim
in Blood Sugar, Brave Individuals, Daily Prayers, Diabetic Patient, Food Industry, Food Justice, Glass Of Water, Good Understanding, Greed, Harsh Realities, Harsh Reality, Health, Health Action, Health Issues, Immigrants, Immigration, Lowest Paying Jobs, Meat Packing Industry, Midwest Communities, People Of Color, Talented Leaders, Vaccines, workplace injuries, Workplace Issues
It is very difficult to have a good understanding of the hands that feed us every day and the harsh reality that workers undergo daily in the meat packing industry. They are some of the hardest jobs in the food industry and most dangerous in any industry. So it falls to the newest immigrants, refugees and people of color in general to fill these jobs and bear the burden of their risks.
I would like to share the reality of what is happening in rural Midwest communities. The suffering due to work-related injuries is increasing every day now, but many feel they have no other option. These are the highest-risk, lowest-paying jobs in the industry. Unfortunately, the employers know quite well the suffering of workers, but greed has overtaken where there should be humanity.
Injuries and suffering are talked about daily in these communities, but some individuals have had enough and are standing up for the rights of all. The stories of these brave individuals range from those fighting for simple bathroom breaks to a diabetic patient requiring just a glass of water during the day to maintain his blood sugar to the Muslim worker who is forced to choose between faith and a job when management denies his/her right to perform daily prayers.
In my opinion, one of the great things to come out of this renewed stand for justice is the power of people of diverse and different backgrounds to come together to work on not only workplace issues, but health issues for the rest of the community, like securing H1N1 vaccines or transportation for families to supermarkets.
Last week, the second Health Action Council regional meeting, sponsored by the Center for New Community, was held in Iowa, and it was wonderful to see talented leaders come together to advance the agenda of shared concerns. It was a testimonial to the diversity in the group and the great interest of issues that cut across their individual communities. Many in the table were able to share the zeal and strength of leadership and capacity for success of their health action councils.
Many of the leaders reiterated the passion they have and it was quite extraordinary to see some of the local work transform itself into the a larger context.
An OSHA representative came to consult with the workers and was able to share a lot about how immigrant and refugee workers can forge better relationships with agencies to provide trainings and resources.
The fruits of this struggle are still on the horizon, but the lesson learned is that we will always prosper and remain steadfast in our commitment for a better tomorrow.