Booker Calls for Swift Action After USDA Reports High Injury Risks for Meatpacking Workers

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) responded to the release of two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) studies on the health and safety risks faced by meatpacking workers. The findings highlight that meatpacking continues to be a job where workers have unacceptably high rates of injury.

Meatpacking and slaughterhouse workers are required to handle animal carcasses on an assembly line with force, speed, and repetitive motions. The studies found that at existing processing line speeds, 81% of chicken processing plant workers and 46% of hog slaughter workers were at a significantly elevated risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome and other debilitating upper extremity disorders. These injuries can be long-term and life-changing.

“These studies confirm that even our current line speeds are not safe for meatpacking workers,” said Senator Booker. “It is unacceptable that meatpacking workers are expected to perform jobs that routinely cause physical injuries. Congress must act swiftly to pass legislation that improves workplace standards for the people who feed us.”

Senator Booker’s Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act would ban increases to meat processing line speeds, to ensure that workers do not face additional workplace injuries.

To read the two studies click here and here.

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