“For too long this industry has been given carte blanche to disregard laws,” an advocate told Truthout.
Gerber’s Poultry, a poultry plant in Kidron, Ohio, which produces Amish Farm Chicken, is under investigation after federal agents found more than two dozen minors illegally employed in meat processing and sanitation.
“The discovery of yet another meat processing facility in the U.S. relying on child labor is the latest reminder of the harms that industrial animal agriculture inflicts at every turn, with the most vulnerable — children, people of color, immigrants, and nonhuman animals — paying the highest price,” Delcianna J. Winders, associate professor of Law at Vermont Law and Graduate School told Truthout.
The plant was raided on the evening of October 4 by Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents following reports about the plant illegally employing children. A local resident told NBC News that the children, mainly from Guatemala, work the plant’s second shift after attending school during the day.
“For too long this industry has been given carte blanche to disregard laws,” Winders said. “Let’s hope this federal investigation is an indication that the government will begin to demand greater accountability across the industry.”
It is illegal under the Federal Code of Regulations and the Fair Labor Standards Act for anyone under the age of 18 to work in hazardous occupations, such as in meatpacking plants. Despite these labor protections for children, there has been a 69 percent rise in child labor in the United States since 2018 and recent data released by the Department of Labor (DOL) has found that child labor violations have risen to their highest level in nearly two decades. In fact, the DOL currently has more than 800 child labor investigations underway and has uncovered 5,792 minors working in violation of child labor laws in the past year.
“Finding just one child in harm’s way is one too many,” the DOL said in a statement. “This is an issue that affects all of us and as parents, caregivers, teachers, employers and community members, we cannot tolerate the exploitation of children.”
archive link: https://archive.ph/ObQdO
The kids work in the fields (and only get Sunday school), the wife slaves away in the kitchen, and the husband owns them all, as well as owning guns and pickups. A flyover country idyllic family.
As a republican, this is absolutely not the future that we want. Now, personally I would say that the age to begin employment would be 13, as that is technically the age to be considered a teenager. However, that is a matter for debate among members of our party. This entire case is just a nothing burger and for that reason I do not think it will go anywhere.
Is this the onion? Children working at the Gerber’s chicken plant in Kidron, OH? Goddamn.
The only way this shit will stop is if the people in charge at Gerber’s Poultry are thrown in jail. Hold them accountable.
Ohio = Lovers, child labour
And especially lovers OF child labor. Just check our their state government!
I read this as “lovers only fans child labor” and thought “man, that’s dark.” Time to detox myself from the internet it seems
I start to perceive the USA as a third world country, on the social and cultural level.
