Children of Smithfield

Our parents work at the Smithfield plant in Crete, Nebraska. We work to keep them and their colleagues safe. Header photo:

[Children of Smithfield @smithfieldchild]

https://t.co/6IWHBmWPXU

[Hannah Dreier @hannahdreier]

As I reported on migrant children working in slaughterhouses, plants around the country run by Perdue, Tyson and Smithfield Foods started circulating a warning about me.

They told workers not to talk to me, and passed out fliers with my picture.

[Debbie Berkowitz @DebbieBerkowitz]

Wow. New GAO report once again calls out the unsafe conditions in meat/poultry plants and calls on OSHA to assess and report on which actions—such as an industry-specific standard—are needed to protect these workers from numerous hazard https://t.co/Gju7mVXL4R

[Nebraska Appleseed @neappleseed]

For all our podcast-listening friends! 🎧 Dulce from @smithfieldchild shares about the ongoing dangers her father faced working in a NE #meatpacking plant during the pandemic. We’re lucky to have powerful advocates here in Nebraska. Hosted by @WDIPpodcast

https://t.co/1maD4tmlEO

[Dave Jamieson @jamieson]

BREAKING: The Labor Dept has released some horrifying findings in its child labor investigation in meatpacking plants.

They say Packers Sanitation employed *at least 102 kids* as young as 13 across 8 states. Minors cleaned 'back saws, brisket saws and head splitters.'

[The New York Times @nytimes]

One of the largest food safety companies in the U.S., Packers Sanitation Services, illegally employed more than two dozen children, the Labor Department found. Some were as young as 13, and several suffered chemical burns from corrosive cleaners. https://t.co/sSxH7sWcFa

[Leah Douglas @leahjdouglas]

“Packers employed at least 31 children, ranging in age from 13 to 17… at three slaughtering and meatpacking facilities: a Turkey Valley Farms plant in Marshall, Minn., and JBS USA plants in Grand Island, Neb., and Worthington, Minn.”

[@itscaitlinhd @itscaitlinhd]

Happy pub day! From Sudan to Kenya to the US, @achut_deng's journey is so much more profoundly moving than I could have imagined during our first interview for the NYT two years ago. She and @akghutton have created an extraordinary book for young readers. It's out today.

[Lincoln Journal Star @JournalStarNews]

This summer, the Journal Star interviewed workers from three different Nebraska meatpacking plants. They voiced longstanding concerns about frequent injuries and hazardous working conditions, discrimination and harassment. https://t.co/BmUV0ydqwV

[Children of Smithfield @smithfieldchild]

Many of you have seen and heard from one of our leaders, Maira Mendez. Sadly, her family’s house caught fire, and they need support as they manage a difficult journey ahead. If you are able, please consider donating to their GoFundMe to help them rebuild https://t.co/owB0mLSQg5

[Debbie Berkowitz @DebbieBerkowitz]

Here is the full show. How the meatpacking industry skirted COVID safety regulations with the help of the White House | On Point https://t.co/x1e78NopPn

[Raffi Melkonian @RMFifthCircuit]

CA5 (Judge Willett writing) sides with plaintiffs and against Tyson Foods.

As a result, the families of workers who died of COVID during the early pandemic may sue Tyson in state court (which they think is advantageous) not federal court.

https://t.co/TpRKZKH3io

[bernice yeung @bmyeung]

"The new emails demonstrate that the primary goal of some meatpacking leaders was not to protect their employees as they had professed, but to get them to show up to work so they could keep producing meat." Latest from @MichaelGrabell https://t.co/gKIZKpAMF3

[Michael Grabell @MichaelGrabell]

As meatpacking workers fell sick from the coronavirus that was spreading through their plants, the CEO of Tyson reached out to the CEO of Smithfield with a proposal. Would he like to discuss getting Trump to sign an executive order to keep plants open?
https://t.co/DjOkCuSePD

[Nebraska Appleseed @neappleseed]

A new report shows large #meatpacking companies worked aggressively at the beginning of the pandemic to force workers to remain in dangerous plants with a high risk of #COVID.

Here's the report: https://t.co/a0TheBM8KA

[Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis @COVIDOversight]

Yesterday, @COVIDOversight reported meatpacking companies used Trump USDA officials to block health protections for workers, deprive workers of unemployment benefits if they quit & lobbied to avoid liability for resulting #COVID19 infections/deaths.
https://t.co/2TcXqCBkyK

[Rosa DeLauro @rosadelauro]

The report released by @COVIDOversight is damning.

At least 284 workers died in the meatpacking industry between 2020 & 2021. Meatpackers need to answer for this deception, be held accountable for endangering workers, & must immediately lower food costs.
https://t.co/mWcaajva37

[ACLU of Nebraska @ACLUofNE]

A new report shows major meatpacking companies worked closely with the federal government at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid oversight and to force workers to keep working in dangerous situations. That should concern us all.
https://t.co/WYYFefo9iO

[National Employment Law Project @NelpNews]

NEW House committee report says major meatpackers colluded with Trump White House to hype ‘baseless’ fears of meat shortages to keep plants open under executive order despite covid risks. Thousands of workers were infected and at least 269 died. https://t.co/tAWf8OUvgb

[Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis @COVIDOversight]

NEW | @COVIDOversight investigation reveals meatpacking companies successfully enlisted Trump USDA political appointees to lobby against #COVID19 health protections at plants and liability for resulting worker illness or death.
https://t.co/AdzHGtid9E