In her nearly eight years on the job at the National Beef processing plant in Liberal, Kansas, Theresa Garcia has seen the injuries that workers suffer when line speeds are too fast. “Muscle strains, torn ligaments, carpal tunnel-all kinds of injuries happen when speeds are too fast and meat starts piling up and stacking up,” says Garcia, a UFCW Local 2 member who works as an ergonomics monitor at the plant.
Last year, UFCW members at the Liberal plant asked the union to look at the jobs and line speeds to determine if staffing was sufficient for workers to safely keep up with the work. The time study carried out by UFCW industrial engineers showed that the staffing for one job in-particular chuck-boning was insufficient. As a result, the company agreed to add five additional chuck-boners to the line. The increased staffing, Garcia says, has been “a really big help. Now they have more time to work on the product and do the job properly.”
As Garcia and other UFCW work-site leaders know all too well, injuries in meatpacking happen at a far greater rate than those in other manufacturing sectors. Working with knives in hand, struggling to keep up with unprecedented production demands, meatpacking workers are injured at three times the rate of other manufacturing workers.
A key reason is dangerous line speeds. To ensure workplace safety, industrial engineers who work with UFCW urge plant workers to keep a close watch to see that lines in their plants are moving at safe speeds. Aside from the potential for injury, line speeds that are too fast usually mean that some workers have to work through their breaks or have to work past quitting time to get the job done.

If you feel that the line at your plant is moving too fast, a first step is to ask for a copy of the company’s crew chart-a document that outlines the standard for how many staff should be assigned to each job. Often, you might find that the company is not in compliance with its own crewing standards.

If necessary, the union can have industrial engineers conduct a time study. Joseph Rezac, UFCW Local 22′s chief shop steward at the Hormel plant in Fremont, Nebraska, recommends gathering as much information as possible before seeking a time study or filing a grievance. “There’s more to this than just getting the numbers. You should look at the safety, the ergonomics, and get the company to explain why the speeds are set the way they are. The company knows we have the right to file a grievance, and they don’t want that to happen.”
It’s important to get all the facts. There are times when time studies show a line is in compliance, but someone may feel it’s too fast because their knives are dull or they’re fatigued or just having a bad day. Rezac, who has worked for Hormel for 23 years, adds that it’s not difficult to detect the signs of unsafe line speeds. “I’ll find out right away if the line speed is up…The meat is not going to be cut properly or not going to be cut at all.”
When you see that happening, he says, it’s time to step up and start asking for changes to ensure that you and your co-workers are working in a safe environment.