The recent immigration issue has brought to the fore the slave-labor conditions under which immigrants, many in our country illegally, are forced to work under care of American companies. Below are a few exerpts from
Fast Food Nation that describe in detail this modern-day slavery.
After reading these excerpts, ask yourself. Are these the jobs that Americans won't do? Or are these the jobs that corrupt, callous, selfish, greedy, inhumane American companies (in collaboration with corrupt, callous, selfish, greedy, power-hungry Republican politicians) that are knowingly forced upon a slave labor workforce that is given low pay, no say, nightmare working conditions, and no worker's rights?
Note: In the last paragraph, please note that the reduction in enforcement of OSHA was, of course, a product of the
Reagan Admistration.
...beef slaughterhouses often operate at profit margins as low as a few pennies a pound. The three meatpacking giants - ConAgra, IBP, and Excel - try to increase their earnings by maximizing the volume of production at each plant. Once a slaughterhouse is up and running, fully staffed, the profits it will earn are directly related to the speed of the line. A faster pace means higher profits.
The unrelenting pressure of trying to keep up with the line has encouraged widespread methamphetamine use among meatpackers...Supervisors have been known to sell crank to their workers or to supply it free in return for certain favors, such as working a second shift.
In the days when labor unions were strong, workers could complain about excessive line speeds and injury rates without fear of getting fired. Today only one-third of IBP's workers belong to a union. Most of the nonunion workers are recent immigrants; many are illegals; and they are generally employed "at will." This means they can be fired without warning, for just about any reason. Such an arrangement does not encourage them to lodge complaints.
From a purely economic point of view, injured workers are a drag on profits. They are less productive. Getting rid of them makes a good deal of financial sense, especially when new workers are readily available and inexpensive to train.
Some of the most dangerous jobs in meatpacking today are performed by the late-night cleaning crews. A large proportion of these workers are illegal immigrants.They are considered "independent contractors," employed not by the meatpacking firms but by sanitation companies. They earn hourly wages that are about one-third lower than those of regular production employees. And their work is so hard and so horrendous that words seem inadequate to describe it.
During the same years when working conditions at America's meatpacking plants became more dangerous - when line speeds increased and illegal immigrants replaced skilled workers - the federal government greatly reduced the enforcement of health and safety laws. OSHA had long been despised by the nation's manufacturers, who considered the agency a source of meddlesome regulations and red tape.
Source: Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York: Perennial/Harper Collins, 2002. pp. 174-179
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