WASHINGTON — The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) recently released a statement expressing its opposition to U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad’s (R-Minn.) American Protein Processing Modernization Act.
The RWDSU represents more than 15,000 poultry workers in facilities across the southern United States, as well as meatpacking and processing workers in other parts of the country.
Stuart Applebaum, president of the RWDSU, made the union’s stance on the act clear in the following statement:
“Once again, we are seeing a push by industry groups to prioritize profit and production over the health and safety of the workers on the frontlines of America’s food supply chain. The ‘American Protein Processing Modernization Act’ is nothing more than a green-light for poultry and processing companies to run even faster line speeds, ignoring years of evidence that increased speeds endanger workers and compromise food safety. If companies want to move faster, they should move faster to protect their workers, not to squeeze more profit out of them.
“Workers in poultry and meat processing plants already face some of most dangerous conditions in the country, with high injury rates, repetitive stress disorders, and exposure to hazardous conditions. Faster line speeds means fewer precious seconds to work safely, meaning greater risk of cuts, slips, and other serious injuries, and not to mention, less time to ensure food safety.
“We cannot allow corporations and politicians to roll back protections under the guise of ‘competitiveness.’ True modernization should mean investing in worker safety, stronger enforcement of labor standards, and ensuring our food system is both safe and sustainable.
“The RWDSU will continue to fight alongside workers to oppose this legislation and to demand a food system that values people over profit.”
The American Protein Processing Modernization Act seeks to provide a permanent framework to increase poultry and pork line speeds. Finstad introduced the act in late August.
