source: www.business2community.com

As the government shutdown drags on, many pundits have drawn attention to how gerrymandering has helped give the American people a handful of right-wing Republicans willing to shut down the government as part of their ideological crusade against Obamacare. What has not been widely understood is how Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, is also a top funder of an effort to turn state legislatures red and control the redistricting process.   Perhaps Republican operative and former Bush advisor Karl Rove put it best when he wrote, “He who controls redistricting can control Congress” in a 2010 Wall Street Journal editorial. And with the millions Walmart gives to the Republican State Leadership Committee, the Republicans Party’s top influencer of redistricting, Walmart and the Waltons have played a disturbingly significant role.

SHUTDOWNS

The House has seen an increase in “safe” Republican seats since the last shutdown in 1995. Politico describes the difference: “79 of the 236 House Republicans serving during the last shutdown resided in districts that Clinton won in 1992. Today, just 17 of the 232 House Republicans are in districts that Obama won in 2012.”

The result: primaries pose a bigger risk to most Republicans than the general election, and Republicans are engaging in a race to the extreme right. This theory is borne out by Think Progress’ tally of House Republicans who are willing to resolve the crisis and back a continuing resolution like the one passed by the house. As of last Tuesday, there were only 14 such House Republicans, and in their districts Obama averaged 48.8% of the vote in 2012.

WALMART’S ROLE

This is where Walmart comes in. The 2010 Republican takeover of state legislatures was led by the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), a so-called dark money group that can take in unlimited corporate contributions and obscures that money’s origins as it is redistributed to influence state races. A Pro Publica report explains that when it was formed in 2002, the RSLC “was primarily a vehicle for donors like health care and tobacco companies to influence state legislatures, key battlegrounds for regulations that affect corporate America.” But in 2010, the group got a new chairman and a new focus: to influence redistricting.

To control redistricting before the 2012 elections, Republicans would first have to win as many state legislatures as they could in 2010. That year Rove wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “Nationally, the GOP’s effort will be spearheaded by the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC). Funded by 80,000 donors, it spent more than $20 million in the last election cycle on legislative races and for attorney general, lieutenant governor and secretary of state campaigns.”

The RSLC may have thousands of donors, but Walmart is consistently among the top 20. Since the 2004 election cycle, Walmart has given the Republican State Leadership Committee over $1.5 million, according to data compiled by Open Secrets. In the ongoing election cycle, Walmart is currently the group’s top donor.

WALMART’S RECORD DONATING TO RIGHT-WING CAUSES

All of this is in keeping with Walmart and the Walton family’s (which controls Walmart) long history of backing Republicans and right wing-causes, especially at the state level. Since the 2004 cycle, Walmart has spent over $12.7 million in state-level races (not counting its contributions to the RSLC), according to Follow the Money. Nearly 80% of that money went to Republican candidates and party committees. The Waltons, meanwhile, give almost exclusively to Republicans, and in 2010 they helped finance the Republican takeover in a big way. Despite not being from there, six Waltons were among the top fifteen political donors in Wisconsin legislative races during that election cycle. In fact, Alice Walton was the top individual donor to Wisconsin legislators during the 2010 cycle.

IT WORKED

The 2010 GOP strategy worked. Walmart joined forces with the US Chamber of Commerce (which Walmart also funds), tobacco companies, pharmaceutical companies, and others to fund the RSLC and help Republicans win 675 legislative seats and gain control of 12 more legislatures, including places like North Carolina, where it had been over a century since the GOP last controlled the state. Ultimately, Pro Publica explains, “the GOP oversaw redrawing of lines for four times as many congressional districts as Democrats.” So even after Democratic candidates for Congress won 1.1 million more votes than Republicans, the GOP was able to maintain its control of the House.

For $1.5 million over the past decade, Walmart was able to help the Republican State Leadership Committee secure control over the Congressional redistricting process. This in turn gave the Republicans 54% of House seats despite winning only 45% of the popular vote and ample opportunity to grind the government to a halt, even without the support of most Americans.

credit: Huffington Post

On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report on incomes and poverty.  According to the report, the median household income in the U.S. in 2012 was $51,017, and not much different from the 2011 median income of $51,100.  However, when you look at the median household incomes over the last 25 years, the median household income in 1989 was $51,681—meaning that a typical middle class family earned more in 1989 than middle class families did last year.  The nation’s official poverty rate in 2012 also remained stagnant at 15 percent, representing 46.5 million people who are living at or below the poverty line.

Another study this week from Center for American Progress builds on the U.S. Census Bureau data and links the slide of middle class incomes to the decline in union membership since the 1960s.  Between 1967 and 2012, union membership fell from 28.3 percent of all workers to 11.3 percent in all 50 states.  The decline in union membership is reflected in the decline in the share of the nation’s income going to the middle 60 percent of households, which fell from 52.3 percent to 45.7 percent over the same time period.

As the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow, it’s clear that something needs to be done to rebuild the middle class.  Making it easier for workers to stick together in a union to bargain for better wages and benefits is a good place to start.

Reposted from Making Change at Walmart

Walmart’s second quarter sales report shows the continuation of negative same store sales. In response, OUR Walmart member Larry Born, who has worked at Walmart in Crestwood, IL for over three years, issued the following statement:

“Today’s numbers make it clear that Walmart’s labor practices aren’t just hurting workers like me—they’re also hurting business. Instead of listening to employees who raise concerns about working conditions and their impact on sales and the company’s reputation, Walmart has tried to suppress our fundamental right to speak out for better jobs by firing and disciplining many of us who simply want what’s best for our families and for the company.

“Now major investors are divesting from the company as a direct result of its labor practices, and Walmart’s urban expansion efforts are facing resistance from cities like Washington, DC that don’t want to bring Walmart values into their communities. Until Walmart shows a real commitment to creating good jobs that can support a family and strengthen local economies, the company will continue to face roadblocks in this key part of its business strategy.

“Similarly, while associates struggle to support their families as a result of erratic and inadequate hours, Walmart is receiving the lowest customer satisfaction scores compared to other supermarkets,thanks to the empty shelves and long checkout lines caused by understaffing. At the international level, costs related to Walmart’s violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act are sky-high, and the company’s reputation with the public and with investors has been seriously damaged by its refusal to join other retailers in committing to improve safety at supplier factories in Bangladesh, where Walmart was found to have procured clothing as recently as 2012 in the factory collapse that killed over 1000 garment workers.

“If Walmart wants to reverse these trends, the company should start by listening to its associates. With $16 billion in profits every year, Walmart can easily afford to increase pay and access to full-time hours so that we can make our stores great places to shop and so that every Walmart worker can support their family—without relying on public assistance. These commonsense changes will help repair the company’s image, lift its bottom-line, and strengthen our entire economy.”

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER: UFCW and OUR Walmart have the purpose of helping Wal-Mart employees as individuals or groups in their dealings with Wal-Mart over labor rights and standards and their efforts to have Wal-Mart publicly commit to adhering to labor rights and standards. UFCW and OUR Walmart have no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with UFCW or OUR Walmart as the representative of Walmart employees.

In fact, the survey found that unions are now most favorable among women, people of color, young people between the ages of 18 and 29. Here’s a breakdown of the facts:

• According to an MSNBC article about the new research, “women don’t make up a majority of the unionized workforce, but they’ve been narrowing the gap for years. They make up about 45% of the unionized workforce according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics—and they’re gaining.”

• African Americans in particular are more likely to be union members.  13.1% of all working African-Americans are part of a union, compared to 11% of all non-black workers.

• 61% of surveyed young people between the ages of 18 and 29 support unions, showing that the millenial generation is changing the image of labor even further.

• Overall, 51% of surveyed Americans view labor unions favorably. That’s 10 percentage points up from labor’s lowest approval rating two years ago in 2011, when attacks from the right were very prevalent in the media. Many people have seen that right to work legislation in states like Wisconsin has failed to solve any fiscal crisis–an argument that conservatives like Scott Walker used to gain support.

• 80% of liberal Democrats view labor unions favorably compared to 23% of conservative Republicans.

• More than a third of public sector workers are unionized.

A full summary and additional information about the survey can be viewed at http://bit.ly/12jkgv5.

An Arkansas judge issued an order that preliminary enjoins the UFCW International Union, members of OUR Walmart who are not current Associates, and those working in concert with them from entering Walmart property in Arkansas for any purpose other than shopping. The order does not apply to current Associates.

Read the full order here.

Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement issued by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) President Joseph Hansen regarding the decision of H&M and other retailers to sign a legally binding agreement to improve workplace safety in Bangladesh:

“The UFCW applauds H&M and other retailers for accepting binding building safety standards at Bangladeshi garment factories following the recent fire and building collapse that killed more than 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh. By signing the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, H&M and other retailers are taking the high road and putting people before profits at their supplier factories.

“The UFCW also applauds UNI Global Union, IndustriALL Global Union and the Worker Rights Consortium for their work to address the terrible working conditions in Bangladesh.  Thousands of UFCW members work in the retail industry, including at H&M, and the UFCW will continue to honor the workers who died or were injured in Bangladesh by supporting workers here and abroad who are struggling to protect their basic rights, and by calling on other retailers that have a strong presence in Bangladesh—such as Walmart—to do the right thing and sign this agreement.”

Thousands of UFCW members work in the retail industry, including at H&M, and the UFCW will continue to honor the workers who died or were injured in Bangladesh by supporting workers here and abroad who are struggling to protect their basic rights, and by calling on other retailers that have a strong presence in Bangladesh—such as Walmart—to do the right thing and sign this agreement.

The Center for Economic and Policy Research poses this question:

“Suppose the minimum wage had kept in step with productivity growth over the last 44 years. In other words, rather than just keeping purchasing power constant at the 1969 level, suppose that our lowest paid workers shared evenly in the economic growth over the intervening years.”

As the graph displays, in the past, when minimum wage was tied to productivity, workers benefited:

“This should not seem like a far-fetched idea. In the years from 1947 to 1969 the minimum wage actually did keep pace with productivity growth. (This is probably also true for the decade from when the federal minimum wage was first established in 1937 to 1947, but we don’t have good data on productivity for this period.)

As the graph shows, the minimum wage generally was increased in step with productivity over these years. This led to 170 percent increase in the real value of the minimum wage over the years from 1948 to 1968. If this pattern of wage increases for those at the bottom was supposed to stifle growth, the economy didn’t get the message. Growth averaged 4.0 percent annually from 1947 to 1969 and the unemployment rate for the year 1969 averaged less than 4.0 percent.

This changed in the 1970′s, when the real value of minimum wage declined sharply and only kept up with inflation. This major shift in policy change happened without any public debate it would seem. The Center for Economic and Policy Research notes that if “the minimum wage had kept pace with productivity growth it would be $16.54 in 2012 dollars”.

A Business Insider piece also quotes Op-Ed columnist Ezra Klein, who notes that:

“a minimum wage is like a proxy labor union; sure it may have some employment effects, but it effectively raises the wage bargaining power of those workers who do manage to find employment. In the absence of such bargaining power, we can’t expect any meaningful increase in wages at the low end of the income spectrum.” 

The article also cites a study in which found that minimum wage increases had no adverse effects on employment, and actually lead to increased employment rates among single women with children. Some date also backs the idea that reasonable wage increases affect wage hikes further up the pay scale (and also decreases the wage gap), and also provide workers with motivation to be more productive.

The fact is, raising the minimum wage would raise living standards for millions of workers who are currently living at or just above the poverty line.

As for the second argument, that $9.00 an hour still is not enough to provide a decent living for millions of working class Americans, we agree for the most part.  However, not only is $9/hour a step in the right direction, it is also good for union members, who stand to seek even greater wage increases in their contracts, if they make more than the current minimum wage of $7.25.

In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “unionized food service employees have median weekly salaries that are $100 higher than non-union workers.”

Also, although the President is pushing for a $9 minimum wage, several state governments are pushing for $10 or more, as in Maryland.

$9 an hour is not a perfect solution.  It will not raise all of America out of poverty.  However, it is certainly a great stride towards providing more Americans a platform to the middle class-  something that all of America should agree we need to rebuild in order to restore our economy. As President Obama noted in his SOTU address, no American working a full-time job should be living under the poverty line and nor should, if we can help it, anyone else.

Among the many contributions Inez made to society in her lifetime, are her activism in the 1960′s Civil Rights Movement in northern Ireland, her work for The National Union of Public Employees and Unison, and her achievements as the first female president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). Her position here enabled her to make “unequaled” progress in the women’s and human rights, according to her peers, including getting higher wages for women in low-paying jobs. In fact her work towards social justice and labor rights has effected people around the globe.

In the 1980’s, she was a signatory to the historic MacBride Principles, a corporate code of conduct for US companies investing in Northern Ireland which demanded outcomes to address religious inequality in employment. She was also the founder of the “groundbreaking” Participation and the Practice of Rights organisation (PPR), which provides support to local disadvantaged communities and groups in using a rights based approach to change the social and economic inequalities and deprivation they face.

What made Inez so successful in her role as a labor leader and activist was her “unstinting passion”. When, after portraying Inez in the play “SEVEN”, Meryl Streep asked her why she did the work she did, Inez replied, “at the heart of everything, I desire to see the glint in a woman’s eye who thought she was nobody, when she realises that she is somebody.” The many people who’s lives were made better by the work that Inez did are saddened by her death, but know that her spirit will forever remain among workers and union members.

Hilary Clinton noted that in one of their last conversations, Inez had “wanted to talk about how we had to keep working to bring people together so that they would recognize the common humanity and experience in the other; the fact that they want to be part of a family and a community; have a good job and a livelihood; a chance to learn and try to make sense of the world; to seek meaning and fulfillment in their choice of religious faith and practice” and that she said “there are so many more ties that bind us than divide us.”

For more information about the impact that Inez had on the labor world, click here.

Firstly, the decision, although perhaps only temporary, is a big motivator for all those involved in this year’s earlier anti-walker protests.  After investing countless resources into the movement to stop his anti-worker legislation from passing, and recall the governor, it was disheartening to lose the battle.  Working families see that our efforts were not in vain.

Another point made in the article suggests that now, political polarization and opinion on the issue is not going to fade away, and will only be rejuvenated.  Because of the Friday decision, Democrats and Republicans are less likely to compromise on their beliefs regarding right-to-work legislation, essentially giving the labor movement a second wind. Collective bargaining is now back in the spotlight, front and center.  The debate is not over.

This is good news folks.  Even if the judge’s ruling doesn’t stand up, we know that the fight will not be over.

Click here to read the full column. 

The UFCW urges you to join the IUF in standing with Nestlé workers in Indonesia, Pakistan, and around the world. Take a moment to like the campaign on Facebook and be sure to visit the website to find out how you can help.

A String of Slaughterhouse Successes for UFCW

Workers at the Farmland Foods meatpacking plant in Carroll, Iowa, make a starting wage of $11 an hour. Workers at a similar plant owned by the same company 25 miles away in Denison, Iowa, make $14.60 an hour, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union. That’s one of the reasons, according to UFCW spokesman Marc Goumbri, that in October a majority of the about 125 workers at the Carroll plant voted to join the UFCW Local 440.

Wage disparity with a nearby union plant was also a driving force behind another vote in a string of union election victories for the UFCW this fall. In an early November election, a majority (1292 to 824) of  around 2,500 workers at a National Beef slaughterhouse and packing plant in Dodge City, Kansas, decided to join the UFCW Local 2. The union has long represented workers at a Cargill plant nearby. Goumbri told In These Times:

When you have a union facility that’s not far away, what you see is workers know from the get-go what having a union can mean for them and their families and the community—the wages at the union plant are much higher.

Goumbri said the National Beef election along with an October election at a JBS beef slaughterhouse in Plainwell, Mich., helped the union significantly bolster its “density” in the beef industry. The Michigan workers brought the UFCW’s total membership at JBS plants to about 28,000. Additionally, in September, about 300 workers at a Nebraska Prime kosher beef plant in Hastings, Neb., voted to join the union’s Local 293.

Now, Goumbri said, the UFCW represents about 60 percent of beef and about 72 percent of pork slaughterhouse and packing house workers nationwide. He told In These Times:

When a lot of workers are represented by a union in a particular industry, they use the strength they have in numbers to raise the floor for everyone… These are well-paying union jobs that come with wages and benefits – in the current economic state our communities are in desperate need of such jobs.

A 2008 article by Cornell University professor Richard Hurd about UFCW retail food (grocery) organizing notes that even when the union has a high concentration in a given sector, it needs a unified national bargaining strategy in order to effectively advocate for its members in changing, consolidated industries.

In the above four campaigns, the union said the employers agreed to remain neutral and allow a fair vote free of intimidation or other interference. Goumbri said this is not the norm in the industry or in general, but that in these cases the employers understood there was widespread support for unionization and that the employees were determined.  He told In These Times:

Companies are still hell-bent on preventing workers from having a free and fair process. (Fair elections) come when companies see workers are really united and the workers just take a stand, and the company knows workers are determined to make that choice. These were workers who knew exactly what they wanted and knew what their rights were.

Slaughterhouses and packinghouses are significant targets for unionization, since the jobs are typically grueling and dangerous and often employ a high percentage of Latino immigrants and African refugees.

(Denison, site of the two Farmland Foods plants, made national news in 2002 when the skeletal remains of immigrants were found in a boxcar. Horrified and sympathetic residents noted the quickly growing Latino population drawn by the slaughterhouses, though it’s not clear the people in the boxcar were specifically bound for Denison.)

Goumbri said wages, benefits and conditions will all be the focus of contract negotiations at each workplace, with workers at the kosher slaughterhouse also prioritizing Sundays off (the plant is closed on Saturdays).

Goumbri said the National Beef unionizing campaign built momentum this year after workers attempted to organize last year in an effort that didn’t result in an election. The JBS election came after just several months of organizing, he said.

TOKYO — The Inageya grocery store chain will resume U.S. beef sales Oct. 10 on a trial basis, a company official told Meatingplace.

An as-yet-undetermined number of Inageya’s 127 outlets will sell chuck rib, chuck eye roll and strip loin for yakiniku (Korean-style barbecued beef), company meat department general manager Tokio Iso said.

Amount of volumes to be purchased have also not been decided yet, Iso said. “We will see how well sales go so we can determine how we will proceed in handling U.S. beef in the future,” he said.

Since a December 2003 ban on U.S. beef because of BSE, Inageya has not handled the meat despite its import resumption in August 2006. The only beef imports the chain presently offers are from Canada and Australia.

Based in Tokyo Prefecture, the company also has outlets in the neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama.

U.S. Meat Export Federation Japan’s senior director for trade projects and trade services told Meatingplace his office will support the promotion with special stickers for meat trays and materials for shelf decoration.

“We are delighted to see the resumption of sales of U.S. beef products by a leading regional chain that used to be an active user of our products,” Susumu Harada said.

Cargill has settled a multi-plant lawsuit and grievances covering all production workers at represented facilities across the country.

The settlement resolves years of efforts by the UFCW and Locals 2, 230, 293, 431 and 540 to ensure that UFCW members who work at Cargill are fully and fairly compensated for their work.

In the food processing and packing industry, workers are required to wear protective equipment and gear to ensure their safety and the safety of the food we eat. Many large employers, like Cargill, tried to avoid paying workers for the time it takes for them to put on and take off that gear. That time, called “donning and doffing,” has been the focus of UFCW efforts to ensure that meatpacking and poultry workers are paid for all their work.

UFCW locals have worked together to make sure that all workers in the industry get paid for donning and doffing, and now Cargill workers will see their long-overdue wages. All the locals involved will be working to ensure these Cargill workers receive the compensation they are owed. Additionally, a similar suit, covering tens of thousands of poultry workers who work for Tyson Foods, is also nearing a settlement. Keep checking this space to find out more soon!

Cargill workers and members of UFCW Local 2 in Dodge City, Kansas have begun working under their newly ratified contract. Workers were able to negotiate some creative new policies that are already making a real difference in their family lives – and in their paychecks.

Wage increases total $1.60 per hour over the next four years, including an immediate 55 cents per hour raise. Workers also negotiated job upgrades for more than 300 workers. For those workers, the contract means an additional and immediate raise of anywhere from 55 cents to $1.20 per hour. The new contract has four ways workers can earn overtime. In addition to earning time and a half after 40 hours per week, overtime is also paid after 8 hours a day, and after six consecutive work days. If there’s a holiday during the week, Saturdays are counted as overtime. A new leave of absence policy guarantees workers’ jobs if they need to leave for an extended period of time because of a family emergency like a child’s or parent’s illness. Workers can take up to a year and a half off and return to the job (or similar job) and rate of pay they were earning beforehand.

The contract maintains affordable family health benefits, and for about a third of the workers, depending on the type of plan, premiums went down between $8 and $12 per week.  But, now in the case of a serious illness where someone might miss several days of work at a time, that worker is eligible for sick benefits of up to $300 per week without any extra cost—a real safety net for single parents, or for families struggling to get by in this economy.

“It is only because we are united in our union that we were able to negotiate these pay and benefit improvements,” says Clemente Torres a member of UFCW Local 2.

“Our new contract gives peace of mind,” says Carmen Lopez, another UFCW Local 2 member and Cargill worker. “Dodge City is a small place, and with the economy the way it is, people are lucky to have a union job here. Once you get it, you really want to keep it. Because of the union contract, I know if I get very sick, my family can still get by, and the job will be there. Sometimes in your life, you have an emergency where you have to focus on something else – maybe your parents’ health or you have some kind of other emergency. With this contract, God forbid, if an emergency happens, you don’t have to pick between your job and your family. I can focus on my family and take the time I need, knowing I can count on my job being there when I’m ready.”

Patrick Cudahy, a subsidiary of U.S. meat processor Smithfield Foods, acquired 814 Americas, Inc. from Spanish food company Campofrio Alimentacion, in 2005. The UFCW continues to build strength and solidarity across the industry as an increasing number of Smithfield Foods workers across the country join with their brothers and sisters for better jobs and a voice at work.

From MeatPoultry.com, February 1, 2010
by Bryan Salvage

Tyson Foods has proven the relationship between meat processors and union officials doesn’t have to be adversarial. Indeed, when both sides focus on a common goal, the achievements can surprise even hard-line skeptics.

An historic Occupational Safety and Health Administration citation and settlement issued in November 1988, involving IBP inc. – which was acquired by Tyson Foods in September 2001 and later became Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. in May 2003 – led to developing a successful joint Tyson-United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) ergonomics program to reduce workplace injuries.

Launched at Tyson Fresh Meats’ 1.1 million sq. ft. beef processing complex in Dakota City, Neb., the program has been in place for 20 years and the results have exceeded almost all expectations. The OSHA recordable injury and illness rate at the complex is 67 percent below the rate recorded in 1991. Also, the rate of injuries and illnesses at Dakota City requiring a physician is 73 percent below 1991 levels. A healthy workforce has also resulted in a healthier bottom line for the beef operation.

“This program has also resulted in increased yields and efficiencies,” says Rex Hofer, director of HR Operations, Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., who has HR oversight of the Dakota City complex and four other Tyson beef and pork plants.

When the program began, few in the industry could define ergonomics (the science of designing the workplace to fit the worker to prevent injuries). Also, the relationship between industry and the UFCW was contentious at times.

“The program gave us something to work toward together as opposed to fighting each other,” says Dan Brooks, senior vice president of operations at Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. “It evolved our relationship. It was a tool in changing the way we approached and understood each other.”

“A program li ke this is not as beneficial for the union and the company as it is for the workers because it does reduce workplace injuries; the program has resulted in much success,” says Marvin Harrington, president of the UFCW Local 222, Dakota City, Neb. “I don’t think any [competitors] come close to Tyson’s program; some are trying, some would like to, but they’re not close.”

Tyson’s workforce has changed as the program evolved during the past 20 years. Today, it is not uncommon to see a 100 lb. worker – man or woman – doing a job on the production floor that could previously be done only by a 180 lb. man. The forces, lifting and rolling heavy products over have been removed from the equation thanks to Tyson’s ergonomics program.

“Over the years, we’ve done many things through this ergonomics program to make jobs less stressful or hazardous,” says Carmen Hacht, UFCW Local 222 Recorder. “We [Tyson and UFCW Local 222] work together regularly and we have more opportunities to make it better.”

The program has been so successful, it has been expanded to Tyson’s eight beef plants and six pork plants.

“The reason this ergonomics program works is it’s a team effort by everybody sitting in this room [Tyson management, hourly workers and Local 222 officials],” says Kim Dirks, Tyson’s Fresh Meats director/EHS operations. “Although we’re not involved with OSHA anymore on this program, we continue doing this program because it’s good for the folks who work here.”

Dan Tjaden, senior director of operations support with Tyson Fresh Meats, adds: “Given the proper tools

and equipment, making sure the carcass is in good condition, everybody working together and sharing ideas and brainstorming together makes a difference.”

Twenty-six year Tyson veteran Chris Rupp, complex manager, who has worked at the Dakota City complex for the past 10 years, says Tyson’s ergonomic program components includes: training hourly workers and supervisors on worker safety; conducting analyses of every job identified as hazardous to help reduce and eliminate stresses; implement hazard prevention and controls; and continue following up on measures to ensure expected results are achieved. He feels the most important ergonomics issue is workers knowing how to keep their knives sharp.

Both engineering and administrative controls help enhance worker safety under this program.

“Engineering control could be a mechanical assist,” Rupp explains. “In the absence of assists, we have administrative controls where a team member can step back for several minutes, tool a knife and do hand exercises. We also rotate team members to jobs with mechanical assists…and sometimes relocate them to an easier job.”

Ergonomics in action

The Dakota City complex handles carcass beef production, processing, hide processing and tanning. The beef processing plant operates two production shifts, five or six days a week. Acquiring cattle from within a 400-mile radius, the complex has the capacity to slaughter 4,800 cattle per day.

With a capacity of 7,000 cattle per day, additional beef carcasses are shipped in from the company’s slaughter plant in Denison, Iowa. Tyson Fresh Meats spent $1.5 billion in fiscal 2008 supplying its Dakota City plant with cattle.

Products processed at the plant include fresh, vacuum-packed boxed beef for wholesalers, retailers, hotels, restaurants and institutions. Bone, fat, trimmings and hides are recovered and used to make various food and non-food products. Tyson beef and allied products are marketed both domestically and internationally.

The complex employs 3,800 team members, Rupp says. Approximately 2,000 of them work on the recently renovated and expanded beef-processing floor, which totals 130,000 sq. ft. (including 80,000 sq. ft. of new space and 50,000 sq. feet of renovated space).

Encompassing nine lines, the processing operation includes trimming, packaging, boning tables and a break chain. The box make-up operation is located one floor above the production floor while all bone belts and vacuumpackaging equipment are located one floor below.

“Our ergonomics program builds a team because you get everybody involved; it really is a joint effort,” Rupp says. “Jim Hilton [29-year company veteran who is an assistant hourly trainer (AHT), ergonomics monitor and a UFCW Local 222 member] has been instrumental in this program through his work, ranging from testing knives to helping find solutions on a number of production floor challenges.”

Committed to success

Tyson and union executives agree the company was committed to this program from the start. The program began under the leadership of the late Bob Peterson, former IBP chairman and CEO. Ron Goodrich, vice president of operations at the time, headed the program in its early years.

“The biggest challenge was getting everyone educated on what ergonomics was,” says Bob Collins, plant HR manager, long-time Tyson executive and a Tyson ergonomics pioneer, on launching the program.

“We had to hire consultants to train trainers on what a stressor was,” adds Denny Golden, training/ergonomics manager who has been with the company 29 years and oversees the Dakota City ergonomics program. “I have been managing the program since 1990.”

“We also needed to teach line supervisors about non-verbal communications ,” he adds. “People having a problem may be rubbing a hand or shrugging a shoulder. That continues to be an important every-day process our supervisors observe.”

Jim Lochner, company veteran, ergonomics champion and recently appointed chief operating officer of Tyson Foods, says Tyson has spent millions of dollars in developing ergonomically-designed equipment and process improvements, as well as on training over the past 20 years.

“However, the real key to the program’s success has been the workers who serve as safety and ergonomics monitors,” he adds. “The input we’ve received from hourly production workers and the participation of our plant and corporate management teams have been invaluable.”

Tyson takes much pride in this program, says Tom Dunlop, HR manager of the Dakota City complex. “We have a joint committee at the plant comprised of Tyson management and our hourly workforce – called ergonomic monitors. We have monthly and weekly meetings and work jointly with Local 222 to make this a better workplace for the worker.”

Room for improvement

When Tyson kicked-off this program, its Dakota City complex was an older facility in need of ergonomic changes, Golden says. “We looked every morning at the proper stand height for our line people,” he adds. “The tables they worked on were positioned low on the floor. So you’d try to get someone 6 ft. 4 inches as close to the floor drain as you could, since the floors sloped down to the drains. When we got someone 5 ft. tall, we had to work on the stand to get them at the right height. We spent millions of dollars since then making adjustable stands.”

Today, when glancing down a line, all workers’ heads, regardless of their height,– are at an even height.

The program begins with orientation training for new production workers, which can be done in almost any language; continuing ergonomics training for veteran production workers; involving and training hourly workers as ‘ergonomic monitors’; worksite analysis and redesigning work stations and equipment; and a medical management program focused on early detection and treatment of workplace injuries and illnesses.

“Our AHTs check with trainees every day to make sure they are not having problems,” Hilton says. “If they have knife or steeling problems, we work with them to correct it.”

Ergonomics was a key factor when Tyson redesigned its multi-million dollar Dakota City beef processing floor, which became operational early in 2006. Many engineering projects were designed to modify work stations and equipment to reduce physical stressors on the job including:

• Knife handles were redesigned internally from hardwood handles to a variety of cushion-grip handles;

• Height-adjustable work stations were installed;

• Heavier traditional saws/power tools were replaced by lighter-weight equipment;

• Hydraulic/mechanical assists, such as chuck roll assists and automated knuckle pullers, were installed to help lift or separate product;

• Adjustable overhead chains and conveyors can now be lowered or raised to prevent workers from reaching over shoulder height;

• Product diverters were installed on conveyor lines to bring product closer to workers;

• Ramps instead of steps were installed at appropriate locations;

• The break chain was designed in a U-shaped pattern to eliminate excessive walking from one end of the chain to the other;

• Grating was installed over stands so pieces of line debris can fall below the grating to prevent slipping;

• Comfortable/level floor surfaces were installed; and

• Improved overhead lighting was installed.

Temperature is also critical for employee comfort. The processing floor is kept at 45° F by computerized controls. Although pressure sensors automatically accelerate or decelerate the ventilation, there are no drafts on the floor.

Tyson also reduced vibrations on automated trimming knives and other tools, modified personal protective equipment to make it fit better and added wrist straps to trimming knives so workers can release them and relax their hands. A catwalk over the production floor and a windowed meeting room above and to the side of the production floor helps supervisors visually keep a handle on ergonomic and other plant-floor issues.

“Many ergonomic changes were quick fixes that were done in a few days,” Golden says. “Since late 1988, we’ve implemented more than 3,600 quick fixes at our Dakota City plant, making minor adjustments such as moving a gear box or relocating a knife sanitizer to make the work station more comfortable for team members.”

Feedback is important

After making an ergonomic change, team members fill out feedback forms so management can determine the effectiveness of such changes, Collins says.

Should an employee get injured, he or she is in good hands. The complex contains South and North Health Services areas that care for any injured or ill team member. A therapy room is also located at the complex. Roger Svec, an independent contractor/physical therapist who has been at the complex for 15 years, explains how this system works: the front-line supervisor identifies the problem, the affected person is sent to the nurse’s office, the nurses triage the problem and if it requires further medical attention, the employee is sent to an outside physician. Svec only sees people on a physician referral and some of these workers may be placed on a restricted-duty program until they recover.

Tyson’s ergonomic program encourages team members to speak up about potential problems or concerns. “That’s a big benefit,” Rupp says. “We know early on when the stand height isn’t right, a slide doesn’t slide or a roller doesn’t roll.”

“Once while walking in the chuckroll area, a team member said the brake wasn’t working [on an assist],” Hilton says. “We got maintenance there right away to fix it before someone got hurt.”

Looking ahead

Inherently, processing beef will remain ergonomically challenging because many breeds of cattle come to Tyson’s plants at different rates, heights and sizes. But Tyson can deal with these variances thanks to ergonomic program advancements achieved thus far. And more improvements are on the way.

For example, a Temple Grandindesigned restrainer for knocking cattle is currently being built. “We still knock cattle here in knocking boxes and we’re going to get away from that in about seven months,” Rupp says. “The restrainer will make it an easier, less risky job for knockers and shacklers.”

Brooks, who visits all Tyson beef and pork plants regularly, says: “There is so much pride when you ask about recent successes. I’ll get a list of them everywhere I go. That pride feeds on itself.”

“This program is all about continuous improvement,” Rupp adds, “which we embrace for all of our programs. We’ll continue getting better with our ergonomics program. It’s the right thing to do and it will drive how we progress at Dakota City.”

The UFCW Scholarship Application will be available until April 15, 2010.

Go to www.ufcw.org/scholarship to for more information on how to apply.

Cold water immersion and other antimicrobial interventions in poultry processing substantially improve the microbiological profile of raw chickens, according to a survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

UFCW Local 227 members rallied against proposed zoning changes that would force the closure of the Butchertown Swift plant in Louisville, Kentucky.

By Ames Alexander and and Kerry Hall Singe

Many doctors face pressure to conceal workplace injuries – even if it means providing inadequate medical treatment, according to a new study by Congress’ watchdog agency.

The report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office – spurred by the Observer’s stories on hidden injuries in the poultry industry – concludes that the government hasn’t done enough to ensure the accuracy of workplace injury numbers.

And that has allowed workplace hazards to persist, several lawmakers said following the report’s release Monday.

“The widespread underreporting so clearly documented in this report is undermining the health and safety of American workers,” said Sen. Tom Harkin, D- Iowa, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “If we don’t know the full extent of the workplace hazards workers face, we cannot fully address these risks.”

In a survey of 504 occupational health practitioners – including company doctors and nurses – the GAO found:

More than a third said they were pressured to provide insufficient treatment to workers so that job-related injuries did not show up on company injury logs.

More than half said they experienced pressure from company officials to downplay injuries or illnesses.

More than two-thirds said they knew of employees who feared disciplinary action if they reported injuries.

Compounding that fear: Many companies require workers to undergo drug testing after they are hurt on the job.

The GAO pointed to another factor that discourages reporting: company programs that reward employees if their plants go long periods without recordable injuries.

Companies are required to record all workplace injuries that result in time off work or medical attention beyond first aid. It’s an honor system, and the injury logs are used by regulators and others to gauge plant safety. Low injury rates allow companies to avoid scrutiny from safety regulators and may help them win contracts and reduce workers’ compensation costs.

Workplace injury and illness rates – a key factor in determining whether regulators inspect a company – have declined nationally in recent years. But some experts suspect that’s partly because employers aren’t reporting all on-the-job injuries.

At a conference in New York City last year, occupational doctors spoke about how their employers had encouraged them to treat some injuries in a way that would not make them recordable. A cut, for instance, must be recorded if the worker gets stitches – but not if the doctor simply covers it with a bandage.

“One practitioner said that an injured worker’s manager took the worker to multiple providers until the manager found one who would certify that treatment of the injury required only first aid, which is not a recordable injury,” the GAO report stated.

OSHA is supposed to conduct audits to ensure that companies accurately report injuries. But the GAO found that the agency doesn’t routinely interview workers when it tries to verify injury reports, so it may miss chances to document underreporting. The watchdog agency recommended that inspectors be required to interview workers during records audits.

Some workplace safety inspectors also told the GAO that they rarely learn about injuries from workers. That’s because their audits are typically conducted about two years after injuries occur – and by that time, many injured workers are no longer employed at the worksite. The GAO urged the government to reduce the time between workplace injuries and audits.

Federal OSHA, which oversees safety in about half the states, said it would implement all the GAO’s recommendations. It’s unclear whether the remaining states, including the Carolinas, will adopt them as well.

“Many of the problems identified in the report are quite alarming, and OSHA will be taking strong enforcement action where we find underreporting,” U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said.

Last month, federal OSHA said it would launch a national program aimed at catching companies that hide workplace injuries.

Tom O’Connor, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a group that advocates for worker safety, called the findings “dramatic,” adding: “If healthcare professionals are being asked to not record injuries properly, then we have a pretty broken system.”

The report shows that it’s not “just a few bad actors” concealing on-the-job injuries, he said, and that underreporting is “just worse than a lot of people thought.”

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack toured the St. Joseph, Mo.-based Triumph Foods pork processing facility on Wednesday, a USDA spokesman confirmed to Meatingplace.

Vilsack took the opportunity of being in Kansas City to address the National Association of Farm Broadcasting to schedule the Triumph tour. It was also the same day USDA announced it will buy $50 million of pork products for federal food nutrition assistance programs. (See USDA to purchase pork for domestic nutrition programs on Meatingplace, Nov. 11, 2009.)

The plant tour also came shortly after his return from a trade mission to Asia to promote agricultural exports. The St. Joseph News-Press quoted Triumph CEO Rick Hoffman as saying he appreciates the secretary’s commitment to enhancing agricultural exports. “This will only lead to a stronger agricultural sector as part of a growing U.S. economy,” he said in a statement.

Triumph Foods is a producer-owned pork processing company that began operations in January, 2006. It processes more than 19,000 hogs each production day and has 2,700 employees. On its Web site, Triumph describes its state-of-the-art plant as the newest such facility in the United States.

Cattle hides are more likely to be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 at the feedlot than at the slaughterhouse, according to a recent study by Australian researchers.

The study, published in Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, also concluded that transport and lairage do not increase the number or isolation rate of the pathogen.

Specifically, the study found that 31 percent of cattle hides were contaminated at the feedlot and four percent were infected at the slaughterhouse.

The study contradicts earlier USDA studies that have found transport and lairage can lead to increased levels of E. coli on cattle hides.

By Grant Schulte

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sholom Rubashkin’s lawyers will start calling witnesses as early as today to counter allegations that the former Iowa slaughterhouse manager cheated a bank, laundered money and failed to pay livestock providers on time.

The list of possible defense witnesses includes the plant’s former bankruptcy trustee, Joe Sarachek; Postville schools guidance counselor Ron Wahl, who worked extensively with the town’s immigrant population; and Aaron Rubashkin, the family patriarch who founded Agriprocessors, Inc. to produce kosher meat.

Sholom Rubashkin also will take the stand on his own behalf, defense lawyer Guy Cook said during opening statements. So might his wife, Leah, and at least one of their 10 children.

His brother, Heshy Rubashkin, who helped run the slaughterhouse, is another likely possibility because lawyers have mentioned his name several times in court.

This morning marks week four of Rubashkin’s financial fraud trial in Sioux Falls, S.D. Federal prosecutors are expected to conclude their case today after 10 days, 47 witnesses and scores of internal company records.

Rubashkin, as they tell it, was the mastermind behind a plan to illegally pump money into the plant and pay under-the-table salaries to high-level managers. Rubashkin allegedly used a school and a grocery store under his control to launder money, and did not pay his livestock providers in the time required by law.

Rubashkin faces a maximum 1,280-year federal prison sentence if convicted of all 91 financial-fraud charges. Prosecutors have accused the 50-year-old of bank, mail and wire fraud, money laundering and failing to pay livestock providers in the time required by law. He has pleaded not guilty.

Agriprocessors Inc. in Northeast Iowa was the site of a May 2008 immigration raid that caught 389 illegal workers. The raid, one of the largest in American history, forced the plant into bankruptcy six months later. It was then, prosecutors allege, that the court-appointed trustee discovered a plot to defraud the plant’s lender.

Rubashkin will also face 72 federal immigration-related charges in a second trial now scheduled to begin on Dec. 1. He has pleaded not guilty.

He also stands accused of state-level child labor violations for his alleged role in the hiring or underage workers.

Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 86D gathered to ask the company if members can return to work. The crowd included union members, their friends and family and other union members from the area who participated in the event.

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JBS S.A. said late last week that its merger with Brazilian beef rival Bertin S.A. is on track.

“We are working on finalizing the merger by the end of the year depending on the usual conditions,” Jerry O’Callaghan, JBS director of investor relations, told Meatingplace.

JBS said in a press release that the structure of the new holding company created by the merger has not been defined. Each company has created a committee to help determine the appropriate structure and at some point produce a report with a joint decision.

Upon announcing the merger in September, JBS said its controllers would put all of their stock and Bertin’s controllers would contribute a 73.1 percent stake in the new holding company. JBS and Bertin, respectively, would have 60 percent/40 percent control.

The merger still hinges on a $2.5 billion private placement in JBS’s U.S. unit, JBS USA, as well as antitrust approvals.