Discrimination and Harassment

Among the poultry workers surveyed, reports of experiences of discrimination and harassment were widespread. About half of workers (51%) reported experiencing some form of discrimination in the workplace, and 44% reported being harassed verbally or sexually.

Workers reported that the discrimination they faced was primarily based on race or ethnicity, but some workers (12%) said they were discriminated against because they had complained about conditions in the workplace, and some for other reasons. Latino workers were the most likely to report that they had been discriminated against in the workplace, as were foreign-born workers (Table 24), although the percentage of workers that had experienced discrimination in all categories was quite high. Not surprisingly, the group that experienced the least amount of discrimination was white workers.

Some workers interviewed reported conflicts between workers from different ethnic or national backgrounds. One worker reported that their U.S.-born supervisor treated the immigrant workers badly, calling them stupid and making other disparaging comments. Another said that leads would show favoritism to workers of the same ethnic or national background and deny the others bathroom breaks. Communication barriers between workers who speak Marshallese and Spanish was another commonly reported challenge and source of conflict. [115]

Many white workers reported experiencing harassment. Seven out of ten of white workers (70%) reported experiencing verbal or sexual harassment at work, along with 43% of Latino workers, 36% of black workers, and 25% of API workers. U.S.-born workers reported harassment at a slightly higher rate than foreign-born workers (51% versus 40%). Significantly more women (56%) than men (29%) reported facing harassment at work.

According to survey results, in most cases, supervisors or leads were the ones who had caused worker harassment (see Table 26). This was especially true for black and Latino workers, but API and white workers reported being more likely to have been harassed by a coworker.

NEXT: Worker Action and Employer Response