Why do employees at meat packing plants...

[Buckeye_Democrat]

... work so close to each other?

Is it the result of division of labor when dealing with something that could go bad if not processed quickly?

Here’s an article which states meat packing employees are usually in close proximity to each other, but I didn’t find an explanation.

https://www.ecowatch.com/meat-processing-plants-coronavirus-2645711732.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1

Meat processing workers are particularly vulnerable to infection because they stand very close to each other on assembly lines and share crowded locker rooms, leading some food safety and worker advocates to criticize companies and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for not doing more earlier to prevent the spread of the virus.

"Social distancing is impossible in meatpacking plants," senior government affairs representative for Food & Water Action Tony Corbo said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. "The plants are incubators for spreading COVID-19 and neither the plant owners nor the USDA has provided adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers and inspectors to use while on the job. Workers and inspectors at these plants must be immediately tested for COVID-19 and then immediately provided PPE and hazardous duty pay. We must treat these people who are critical to ensuring the safety of our food supply like the frontline workers that they are."

[33taw]

1. I believe it is for higher production and the need for actual physical labor.

[Marie Marie]

2. Forcing these people back to work is criminal.

I'd pay big bucks to see Ivanka, Jared, Jr and Eric spend 1 week working in one of these plants.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

4. Agree!

At least provide them with some excellent PPE before “forcing” them back to work!

I’d like to see the Trump wimps do it too!

[I_UndergroundPanther]

11. Trump would like all the killing

Blood and death.He'd watch slaughter with glee that sociopath

[SWBTATTReg]

3. Thanks for sharing. I wondered how close they all worked. Wow. Just wow. No wonder so ...

many got ill. My heart and prayers go out to every worker exposed like this (hopefully they're still not exposed like this).

[Generic Brad]

5. It's meat packing, not meat loosening

Could that be the reason?

[sop]

6. "80% of the meat processing workforce is comprised of undocumented workers or refugees"

(estimate by LULAC, League of United Latin American Citizens). That's probably why working conditions have been so poor in these plants.

(Politico, 4/29/20, Congress) "Last week, the Hispanic Caucus requested the House Education and Labor Committee open an investigation and hold a hearing on the working conditions for meat processing workers during the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this month, the Hispanic Caucus called on Trump to not deport any essential workers. 'It's very ironic that on the one hand, the president is trying to do everything he can to get them out of the country, but with an executive order, he's also requiring these people to stay here and work,' said Congressman Castro."

[FBaggins]

7. I'd imagine that food safety plays a role

They need pretty comprehensive disinfecting procedures to avoid foodborn illnesses. Spreading people out wouldn’t just increase brick and mortar expenses, it would dramatically increase the time and effort needed to sanitize everything.

[captain queeg]

9. Hmmm. No. Thorough wash down at night but other than that

The best you might get is hosed off with plain water.

[FBaggins]

12. Not sure why that's a "no"

That “thorough wash down” is very thorough... and a facility three times as large (so that workers could stand six feet apart) would take much more time effort and supplies to clean without a parallel increase in production to spread out the expense.

[LanternWaste]

19. So... not so much safety as your concern, but expense, eh?

I imagine a lot of things too, but imagination isn't a solid foundation on which to form a conclusion.

[FBaggins]

23. Both really

Yes... it's certainly an expense - and not a simple one if we're talking about remediating coronavirus risks. "Just triple the size of your plant" is not a simple task.

But no... it would be a safety concern apart from just being more expensive. Given the plant's capacity, there's a certain amount of work surface that needs to be sanitized on a regular basis per pound of pork they put out. If you triple that surface area you increase the possibility of some portion being missed even if you just say "well... you'll have to spend three times as much on sanitizing".

[captain queeg]

8. This looks fairly typical in the processing end though that looks like pork

And my experience was mostly beef. It was just shoving as many people as you could within limited space to maximize production. Typically a conveyor belt constantly bringing more It’s less crowded on the kill floor I guess because of the sizes. Usually meat runs hanging down from a rail and there’s some space between stations. But it always “assholes and elbows” meaning full speed ahead.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

10. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I should have guessed it was mostly about the production “numbers”.

[captain queeg]

13. It's crappy hard dangerous work. I did it for 10 years and so glad I got out with all my fingers.

[bubbazero]

14. Cost and Growth of plants

think of slaughter plants as an animal assembly line in reverse--I've worked in them and sold to them--both livestock and industrial equipment. When IBP first built Waterloo, Iowa (now Tyson's) they were heavily focused on 'boxed cuts' Most further processing done at other locations. Now same plant runs more hogs and does full processing at plant. Originally Waterloo, Iowa had RATH Packing--HUGE MASSIVE FACILITY. Pigs walked in one end, fully processed pork and other products came out other. Canned hams, frozen sausage you name it. Much bigger--more room--multi-story but even it was crowded. Good union, 5000 workers at peak, most were long time employees--typical middle class jobs--worked by average americans. When RATH closed, a few years later IBP built new plant--wages were approx 1/2. To fill these jobs with lower wages IBP later TYSON recruited immigrants--Bosnians, South Americans, Etc. They've done this all thru the meat packing industry--nothing new here--and I'm not anti immigrant--I worked with these folks and am still friends with people in these plants. But the industry has changed and gotten even tougher! As high school friend who engineers and designs processing lines is fond of saying--empty space is wasted space. Speed is cost savings as time is money--typical line is two sided--cheaper to build one 4 ft conveyor with workers on each side then two 2 ft conveyors and two conveyors would require much more access floor space. Remember, at some point, plants have to be kept cool and cleaned regularly--more space--more cost. It's actually a very efficient process-but very, very hard on people. Absentee owners, production pressures, and a relentless drive to cut costs makes for an industry which delivers cheap meat, but at a sharp human cost. Two sayings common in the meat packing industry--We use EVERYTHING in the pig but the squeal--NO parent hopes that their children will follow them into the same company. (The only 2nd generation long time meat butchers work for small time or small town specialty shops.)

[Buckeye_Democrat]

16. Thank you for the detailed answer.

Seems to be another industrial example of lower money costs with higher psychological costs.

[shanti]

15. How many of these

meatpacking plants and the like, are owned by countries other than the U.S.? This is troubling to me.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

17. This is a global problem in many industries hidden from US consumers.

Across the globe, plants that supply us with many everyday products all conceal crowded working conditions where products we take for granted are made and we then import at rock-bottom prices.

The garment industry and electronic assembly are two that come to mind where robotics have not quite taken hold.

Sooner or later, demand will force these industries making everything from workshirts to cell phones to Christmas ornaments back into full swing and many unseen workers who have no voice will die on our behalf.


KY...............

[fescuerescue]

18. Personal space at work is rarely a priority

Last edited Thu Apr 30, 2020, 05:49 PM - Edit history (1)

for employers who are paying for building, space, cooling etc.

Cubicle farms at most businesses are only slightly more spread out. Slightly. And that's only so that customers aren't picking up the next call about 3 foot away.

I think this virus will reverse a long standing trend of forcing ALL employees closer and closer together.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

20. I hope you're right about the reversal.

I’m not too optimistic unless the owners have to experience it themselves.

[gratuitous]

21. I used to work with a guy who had worked at a foundry in Michigan

One of the weekly tasks was scrubbing out the interior of these large holding vats where the molten steel was held until it went to the next step of processing. The vats were constructed of red brick and held the heat very well. Workers would go down into the vats and scrub the interior of impurities. It was hotter-than-hell work, and teams of scrubbers would work as long as they could, then come out and rest on the grass, cooling off and catching their breath.

One summer, a new tie fresh out of b-school was hired and saw these guys just lazing around (as he saw it). He walked over and started berating them for their slacker idleness. The workers went to the shop steward, who then went to the tie and said that the workers would let the tie set the time for work and the time for rest: The tie would go into the vat for as long as he could, and that would be the new standard.

Everyone gathered around as the young man climbed the ladder to show those lazy workers how to do their jobs. He lasted barely 17 minutes, but that became the new standard.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

22. Lol! Good!

I had an old high school buddy who worked at a foundry. His main problem was the mean coworkers with felonies who played “jokes” like spraying water into the molten material, causing it to splash up and burn him. Good lord! That kind of nonsense was ultimately a management problem too.