“Meatpacking workers know the potential impact of this proposed rule better than any elected official, bureaucrat, or industry talking head.”
Republican Members of Congress Received 36,000 Letters Demanding Their Opposition to Proposed Rules
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which represents hundreds of thousands of meatpacking and food processing workers, announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has received more than 42,000 public comments from UFCW members and the public against the proposed line speed rules. The public comment period for these proposed rules ended yesterday. The rules would raise the limit on line speeds for poultry from 140 birds per minute to 175 for chicken and 55 birds per minute to 60 for turkey, and remove the limit on line speeds in pork entirely. 22,131 comments were submitted against the poultry rule, and 20,852 against the pork rule.
Mark Lauritsen, Director of the Food Processing, Packing and Manufacturing Division and International Vice President at UFCW International, said:
“Throughout this public comment period, UFCW members made clear to the USDA that increased line speeds risk setting their workplaces back decades. Meatpacking workers know the potential impact of this proposed rule better than any elected official, bureaucrat, or industry talking head.
“From the beginning, this proposed rule has been in service to the bottom line of the big meatpackers. It flies in the face of the USDA’s own studies about the impact of line speeds on workers in poultry and pork, and will do nothing to lower prices like the administration claims.
“Workers will find themselves in more dangerous workplaces, consumers will be at risk of buying unsafe meat, and communities will face the possibility of plants closing if this rule is finalized. The UFCW urges the USDA and the Trump administration to abandon this effort. They cannot ignore the voices of thousands of workers who work hard to feed America every day.”
BACKGROUND
- During the USDA’s 60-day comment period, more than 42,000 public comments were submitted from UFCW members and the public in opposition to the proposed line speed rules. Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, and California had the highest number of public comments submitted. 22,131 comments were submitted against the poultry rule, and 20,852 against the pork rule.
- Concerned Americans have also contacted their elected officials in Congress, urging them to oppose the proposed rule and demand USDA rescind it. In total, 192 Congressional Republicans – 44 Republican Senators and 148 U.S. Representatives – have received more than 36,000 letters from their constituents.
- The UFCW has long opposed increasing line speeds, including the Trump administration’s decision to extend USDA’s waiver program that allowed certain plants to operate at faster rates. During the first Trump administration, the UFCW won a legal battle to prevent proposed line speed rules from being implemented.
- The USDA’s waiver extension in March of last year came two months after multiple studies by the department confirmed the adverse effects of heightened line speeds for poultry and swine processing.
- To minimize the proven risks to both consumers and workers associated with high line speeds, the UFCW continues to call for increased safety measures, including additional staffing, improved reporting of workplace injuries, expanded access to early and adequate medical treatment and job modifications that minimize ergonomic stressors.
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The UFCW International is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.2 million workers and their families in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, healthcare, cannabis, retail, and other essential industries. UFCW members serve our communities in all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at ufcw.org.