Blood Sweat And Fear Summary

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When most people eat meat, they hardly give a thought as to how that piece of meat arrived onto their plate. At most, people only consider the slaughtering of the actual animal. It is not clear if the population chooses to turn a blind eye or if they are genuinely ignorant of the people who work in the meatpacking plants. Although immigrants have always ben working in the meat industry however due to changes in the meatpacking plants that led to faster production, companies now with the intention of cutting costs and raising profits are exploiting their immigrant workers by forcing them to work in unsafe conditions with no intention of improvement.
Attention to the meat industry and its’ practices were first brought up to public attention …show more content…

Workers in the meat industry face hazardous work conditions and any attempt to make an improvement is quickly silenced or discouraged (Human Rights Watch 1). With the new plants, the meat industry has improved their speed. But with this new speed, work often becomes dangerous for those who must use knives to cut into the meat. In the report ”Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers’ Rights in U.S Meat and Poultry Plants” it is revealed that a lack of a proper training, safety precautions, and sufficient space make work difficult and dangerous for the employees and those around them. Due to the unsafe working conditions, many employees fear losing a body part or even their life. Companies don’t offer assistance; instead they strip workers of a basic human right to work in safe conditions by using intimidation and fear to make their employees submissive (Human Rights Watch 1). They even go as far to deny compensation for any work-related injuries. Although statistics have shown that the industry has stepped up for safer conditions and equipment, causing illness and work related injuries to decrease dramatically, one can’t be sure if the results are actually due to the improvements or if companies are failing to report the injuries (Cohen 2). Companies have been known to intimidate their illegal employees by …show more content…

Their rights include the freedom to organize, the right to be paid fairly for their services, and the right to work under safe conditions (Gaston and Harrison 2). Although the government passed legislation to help the workers, it does little for the employees since the companies always have the upper hand. Despite the Immigration Reform and Control Act (which made employers liable for hiring illegal immigrants) being passed, employers still intimidated employees by threatening to call immigration services (Gaston and Harrison 3). Despite employers being held responsible for hiring illegal immigrants, the companies would face several fines, whereas the employee could face time in prison, making the employees carry all the

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