Workers and allies rallied on the steps of the Stearns County Courthouse to honor Workers Memorial Day and demand an end to unsafe conditions and discriminatory practices at the Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant in Cold Spring, Minnesota. Cold Spring is 20 miles southwest of St. Cloud.
“We are here today to memorialize workers who lost their lives or were injured at work,” activist Ahmed Ali told the crowd, “and to fight for the rights of the living and working.” Ali is Executive Director of the St. Cloud based Greater Minnesota Worker Center (GMWC) which conducted a seven-month survey of workers at the plant. At least 750 people work at the non-union chicken processing facility. “Our focus this year is Pilgrim’s Pride,” he continued. “We asked workers what their experiences were of health and safety, access to rest rooms and how they’re treated - and what we realized is shocking.”
One shock was that conditions are worse than a similar survey found in 2016 when the plant was owned by the company Golden Plump (GNP). “I’ve worked at different kinds of workplaces including other meat processing plants,” said former line worker Asho Hiir, “but I’ve never seen a place with such adverse conditions on workers as Pilgrim’s Pride.” Hiir worked in the plant for 12 years until she was fired for speaking up. “It’s a slave-like management system,” she added.
The new survey report, More Pain, Less Gain, reveals that:
- 98% of the workers surveyed said they had concerns about safety at work.
- 27% said they had been injured at work.
- 47% said pain was major safety concern. Workers suffer pain in their shoulders, wrists, backs, knees,
and legs due to repetitive stress.
- 22% said line speed is their #2 safety concern, and,
- 100% said the line speed was too fast.
- Fear and intimidation prevent workers from reporting injuries.
- When ill, 53% of workers report staying home without pay and 47% come to work sick.
- 69% said they experienced disrespectful or discriminatory treatment from management.
- 100% of Muslim workers reported they do not get prayer breaks and they have to hide to pray. 70-90%
of the workforce are Muslim or Somali workers.
In 2018, Pilgrim’s Pride reported net Sales of $2.70 billion from a range of chicken products sold through national and international distribution. The Colorado-based multi-national corporation operates feed mills, hatcheries, processing plants and distribution centers in Puerto Rico, Mexico and 12 U.S. states, including Minnesota.
“We wrote a letter to the CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride, and we put in the workers’ demands,” Ali told a cheering crowd that included plant workers, members of the local community, UFCW 1189, CWA, Take Action Minnesota, and the Minnesota AFL-CIO. “Pilgrim’s Pride has a new CEO, Jayson Penn, and I hope he’s hearing this today.”
“We need them to understand the pain the workplace causes to people,” said Elder, Jama Alimad, “and what it means to a pregnant woman not to be allowed to go to the restroom.”
“Workers face such difficult situations that some of them develop depression and difficult medical conditions,” Asho Hiir told the crowd.
In an interview Hiir said more. “They treat us like we’re not human beings. They do not respect our culture. Even when we have our own breaks, if you go and try to pray on our regularly scheduled breaks, the supervisors harass us and sometimes we have to sign warning letters.”
Visibly upset but strong, she added, “As human beings we have inalienable rights, but at this plant we don't have any rights at all.”
Ali is hopeful workers will gain a voice and conditions at the plant will improve. Similar actions and community pressure organized by the Greater Minnesota Worker Center resulted in some positive change when Golden Plump owned the plant.
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Workers and allies rallied on the steps of the Stearns County Courthouse to honor Workers Memorial Day and demand an end to unsafe conditions and discriminatory practices at the Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant in Cold Spring, Minnesota. Cold Spring is 20 miles southwest of St. Cloud.
“We are here today to memorialize workers who lost their lives or were injured at work,” activist Ahmed Ali told the crowd, “and to fight for the rights of the living and working.” Ali is Executive Director of the St. Cloud based Greater Minnesota Worker Center (GMWC) which conducted a seven-month survey of workers at the plant. At least 750 people work at the non-union chicken processing facility. “Our focus this year is Pilgrim’s Pride,” he continued. “We asked workers what their experiences were of health and safety, access to rest rooms and how they’re treated – and what we realized is shocking.”
One shock was that conditions are worse than a similar survey found in 2016 when the plant was owned by the company Golden Plump (GNP). “I’ve worked at different kinds of workplaces including other meat processing plants,” said former line worker Asho Hiir, “but I’ve never seen a place with such adverse conditions on workers as Pilgrim’s Pride.” Hiir worked in the plant for 12 years until she was fired for speaking up. “It’s a slave-like management system,” she added.
The new survey report, More Pain, Less Gain, reveals that:
– 98% of the workers surveyed said they had concerns about safety at work.
– 27% said they had been injured at work.
– 47% said pain was major safety concern. Workers suffer pain in their shoulders, wrists, backs, knees,
and legs due to repetitive stress.
– 22% said line speed is their #2 safety concern, and,
– 100% said the line speed was too fast.
– Fear and intimidation prevent workers from reporting injuries.
– When ill, 53% of workers report staying home without pay and 47% come to work sick.
– 69% said they experienced disrespectful or discriminatory treatment from management.
– 100% of Muslim workers reported they do not get prayer breaks and they have to hide to pray. 70-90%
of the workforce are Muslim or Somali workers.
In 2018, Pilgrim’s Pride reported net Sales of $2.70 billion from a range of chicken products sold through national and international distribution. The Colorado-based multi-national corporation operates feed mills, hatcheries, processing plants and distribution centers in Puerto Rico, Mexico and 12 U.S. states, including Minnesota.
“We wrote a letter to the CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride, and we put in the workers’ demands,” Ali told a cheering crowd that included plant workers, members of the local community, UFCW 1189, CWA, Take Action Minnesota, and the Minnesota AFL-CIO. “Pilgrim’s Pride has a new CEO, Jayson Penn, and I hope he’s hearing this today.”
“We need them to understand the pain the workplace causes to people,” said Elder, Jama Alimad, “and what it means to a pregnant woman not to be allowed to go to the restroom.”
“Workers face such difficult situations that some of them develop depression and difficult medical conditions,” Asho Hiir told the crowd.
In an interview Hiir said more. “They treat us like we’re not human beings. They do not respect our culture. Even when we have our own breaks, if you go and try to pray on our regularly scheduled breaks, the supervisors harass us and sometimes we have to sign warning letters.”
Visibly upset but strong, she added, “As human beings we have inalienable rights, but at this plant we don’t have any rights at all.”
Ali is hopeful workers will gain a voice and conditions at the plant will improve. Similar actions and community pressure organized by the Greater Minnesota Worker Center resulted in some positive change when Golden Plump owned the plant.