The North American Meat Institute recognizes worker safety performance

North American Meat Institute (NAMI) has recognized 135 meat and poultry plants for achieving high levels of workplace safety performance as part of the industry’s continuing effort to reduce occupational injury and illness rates. The Worker Safety Recognition Awards were presented April 22, 2015, during the NAMI Foundation Worker Safety, Labor and Employment Conference at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City, MO.
Thirty-six plants were presented the highest award – the Award of Honor. Fifty-eight plants received the Award of Merit, while 24 were presented with the Award of Commendation. Seventeen plants received the Certificate of Recognition.
“Worker safety progress is one of our industry’s greatest success stories. During the last 20 years, injury and illness rates in the U.S. meat industry have improved by nearly 80 percent,” said Barry Carpenter, NAMI president and CEO. “The rate of injury and illness in the meat and poultry industry continues to fall, and this success represents the commitment to safety performance that is embraced throughout our plants.”
The following plants received Awards of Honor in Worker Safety:
Birchwood Foods – Columbus, OH; Butterball, LLC - Carthage, MO; Butterball, LLC - Huntsville, AR; Butterball, LLC - Mt. Olive, NC;Butterball, LLC Alix Feed Mill - Ozark, AR; Butterball, LLC – Ozark, AR; Farmer John Foods - Vernon, CA; Golden Crisp Premium Foods - Sioux Center, IA;Hillshire Brands Company - Newbern, TN; Hillshire Brands Company - Storm Lake, IA;Indiana Packers Corporation - Delphi, IN: JBS USA - Omaha, NE; Jennie-O Turkey Store, Inc., Dawson Feed Mill - Willmar, MN; John Morrell Food Group - Omaha, NE; Johnsonville Sausage Banner Creek - Sheboygan, WI; Keystone Foods, LLC Equity Group Kentucky Division - Albany, KY; Keystone Foods, LLC Equity Group Eufaula Division - Bakerhill, AL; Keystone Foods, LLC Equity Group Georgia Division - Camilla, GA; Land O’Frost, Inc. - Lansing, IL; Land O’Frost, Inc. - Madisonville, KY; Land O’Frost, Inc. - Searcy, AR; Momence Packing - Sheboygan, WI; Murphy Brown, LLC -  Milford, UT; Murphy Brown, LLC - Warsaw, NC; and Omaha Steaks Synder Plant - Omaha, NE.
To view a complete list of this year’s award winners, click here.

Civil rights groups petition against higher poultry plant line speeds

A coalition of civil rights groups filed a formal petition urging the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) opposing proposed increases in line speeds at poultry plants. The USDA has proposed increasing line speeds from a maximum of 140 birds per minute to 175.
The coalition also takes issue with current OSHA standards, claiming the standards don't address the work speed injuries that are most common in poultry and meatpacking plants. In the petition, the groups urge OSHA to establish a standard that limits work speeds, create standards that address specific, and ensure that existing safety guidelines are enforceable.
Industry groups, including the American Meat Institute, dispute the coalition's claims that the industry is "notoriously dangerous."
"We have a sustained record of improved worker safety during the last two decades. …Our worker safety records are consistent with safety records for 'all manufacturing,'" said J. Dan McCausland, senior director of worker safety for the American Meat Institute.
McCausland said that when examining line speeds, other factors such as how a line is staffed need to be taken into consideration. He added the industry understands it is not in meat companies' best interests to operate at speeds that cannot produce high-quality products.
"Our record, as evidenced by OSHA data, shows an industry that is committed to worker safety and continuously improving in this area.  USDA has the authority it needs today to adjust line speeds as necessary to ensure both food safety and also worker safety," said McCausland.
The coalition, which issued the petition on Sept. 3, includes the Southern Poverty Law Center, Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Coalition of Poultry Workers, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Farmworker Advocacy Network, Heartland Workers Center, Interfaith Worker Justice, Midwest Coalition for Human Rights, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, North Carolina Justice Center, Northwest Arkansas Worker Justice Center, Refugee Women's Network, Student Action with Farmworkers and Western North Carolina Workers' Center.

Pilgrim’s cited with eight safety violations

Pilgrim's has been cited with eight safety violations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The citations follow the death of a worker who became caught in an unguarded hopper while attempting to remove a piece of cardboard at the company's poultry processing facility in Canton, Ga.OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office initiated its inspection in October 2012 in response to the fatality.
Two repeat safety violations have been cited for failing to include the process needed for the removal of locks and start-up following lockout/tagout. Additionally, the electrical cords did not have an effective strain relief device, according to OSHA. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. Similar violations were cited following a 2011 inspection.
Four serious safety violations involve the employer failing to conduct annual periodic inspections of the energy control procedures since 2005 and not providing effective machine and equipment guarding, so that workers cannot enter areas of operation and be exposed to struck-by and caught-in hazards. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known, according to OSHA.
Two other-than-serious violations involve failing to consider safety and health standards for the refrigeration process and not including safety systems and their functions in the refrigeration operating procedures. An other-than-serious violation is defined as one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
The citations for the repeat and serious violations carry $58,755 in proposed penalties. No monetary penalties have been assessed for the other-than-serious violations.
The company, which has not commented on the citations, has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's Atlanta-East area director or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Poultry processor receives Worker Safety Recongition Award

Case Farms employees display the Worker Safety Recongition Award, presented to them by the American Meat Institute

Case Farms, a poultry processor, has earned a Worker Safety Recognition Award from the American Meat Institute for its Goldsboro, N.C., plant. This award distinguishes companies who demonstrate a strong commitment to creating a safer workplace for all meat and poultry industry employees. The award was presented March 20, as part of the American Meat Institute's Conference on Worker Safety, Health, Human Resources and the Environment in Kansas City, Mo.
Through this awards program, AMI works to increase awareness about the importance of worker safety and encouraging processors to develop safety programs that meet or exceed industry standards. Honored with an Award of Merit, the Case Farms Goldsboro facility received high regards throughout the evaluation process.
"We are proud to receive recognition from such an esteemed industry organization for our continuous efforts to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses," said Bobby Barragan, Case Farms' human resources director. "At Case Farms, we proactively work to maintain the highest level of worker safety standards within each of our facilities, and this recognition serves to further motivate us to excel in our worker safety programs."
Adopting standards developed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Voluntary Protection Program, Case Farms has designed reputable safety programs throughout its four complexes.

Poultry groups refute recent claims on worker safety

In a white paper released on March22, the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and the National Chicken Council refute claims made in a recent report released by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice and provide facts about the poultry industry and its approach to worker safety.
The report, Unsafe At These Speeds, begins by stating that injuries in the poultry industry are much more frequent than for the private workforce as a whole, citing 2010 OSHA data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the injury and illness rate for poultry processing workers is 5.9 percent compared to 3.5 percent for all workers in the private sector. Recently released 2011 numbers place poultry processing workers at 5.8 percent compared to 3.5 percent for all workers in the private sector.
The white paper provides more accurate approaches that should be taken to put the OSHA data in proper perspective. First, a more accurate comparison would be to compare poultry workers to all manufacturing workers, who incurred injuries and illnesses at a 4.4 percent rate in 2011. It is also noteworthy to compare poultry processing's 5.8 percent rate to other industries and professions. For 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported injury/illness rate for automobile manufacturing workers was 7.5 percent; for office furniture manufacturing, 5.2 percent; for passenger airline workers, 7.9 percent; and for state and local government workers, 5.7 percent. The poultry industry's injury and illness rates are in line with many other manufacturing industries.
USPOULTRY and the NCC go on in the paper to refute the specific claims about worker health and safety, line speeds, unionization, workers' compensation, anaerobic manure lagoons and the proposal to modernize poultry inspection. The steady and impressive reduction in injuries and illnesses in the poultry industry, 74.5 percent since 1994, is highlighted.
The poultry industry is proud of the advancements it has made in worker safety over the last 30+ years and the ongoing efforts for continuous improvement.

Allen fined $1million for safety violations

The Baltimore Sun reported Allen Family Foods Inc. has been fined $1 million for 51 safety violations found in an inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health unit of the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation in Maryland.
The state inspection followed an incident at the poultry company’s Hurlock, Md., facility last December in which an employee was seriously hurt.

Tyson Foods fined $500,000 for worker’s death

Tyson Foods was fined $500,000 and placed on probation for one year in a federal court action on June 12 for the death of Texarkana worker Jason Kelly. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration won the maximum fine allowed for a willful violation of worker safety regulations.
Kelly was overcome by the hydrogen sulfide gas generated by decomposing poultry feathers at a rendering plant. Five other workers were injured.
Tyson Foods pleaded guilty in January saying that the incident was an accident and that preventive measures had been taken to avoid such cases in future.