UUSC
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee advances human rights and social justice in the United States and around the world.
Wages and Working Conditions in Arkansas Poultry Plants
By the Northwest Arkansas Workers’ Justice Center
Research and writing support: Nina Ebner, Jessica Halpern-Finnerty, and Saru Jayaraman at the Food Labor Research Center, University of California, Berkeley; Miya Cain and Amber Moulton at UUSC; and Chris Benner at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
“This report is one of the most detailed and comprehensive looks at life inside poultry plants in recent years. It reveals serious problems, from unpaid wages to gender and racial discrimination and health and hygiene lapses that harm both workers and consumers. This hard evidence should spur policymakers and poultry companies to action to protect the rights and dignity of the people who put chicken, Americans’ favorite meat, on our tables.”
— Amber Moulton, Researcher, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Table of Contents
Overview:
- Who Are the Workers?
- What Do They Earn?
Working Conditions in Poultry Processing Plants:
- Summary of Findings
- Worker and Consumer Health and Safety
Chapter 1: Introduction and Methodology
Chapter 2: Overview of the Poultry Industry in Arkansas
A Significant and Growing Sector
How Many Jobs?
Wages
Demographics
Where Are the Jobs?
Chapter 3: Workers’ Perspectives
Introduction and Methodology
Working Conditions and Job Quality
- Earnings
- Benefits
- Lack of Mobility and Training Opportunities
- Wage and Hour Violations
- Health and Safety Issues
- Discrimination and Harassment
- Worker Action and Employer Response