Slower lines at meat plants?

WASHINGTON — A Nebraska group urged OSHA officials on Thursday to regulate the line speed at meatpacking plants to protect worker safety.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration held the public meeting in Washington to hear about pressing issues.

Norman Pflanz of Nebraska Appleseed for Law in the Public Interest presented results of the group’s survey of 455 meatpacking workers.

The workers surveyed reported higher injury rates than official statistics and expressed concern about the dangers of higher line speeds coupled with cuts in the work force.

OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels praised the group’s “very well-written, provocative report” and said the agency will look at its recommendations.

“We’ll take them very seriously,” Michaels said.

“Obviously, we’re concerned with anything that increases workers’ risk of injury.”

A spokeswoman for the meatpacking industry has taken issue with the results of the survey, saying that the industry’s injury rate is only slightly higher than for all private industries.

She also said allegations of mistreating workers don’t make sense.

Pflanz said that workers reported abuse from their supervisors and that many packinghouse workers did not understand their rights under the law.

He also spoke of managers who brought up workers’ immigration status only after they were injured or complained about harassment.

Pflanz said, however, that the central safety concern is line speed, which is regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture with an eye toward food safety.

He suggested that OSHA regulate line speed with an emphasis on worker safety, possibly in conjunction with the USDA.

Pflanz said Michaels’ comments were grounds for optimism.

“It’s definitely on OSHA’s radar,’’ he said, “and that’s a really, really big thing.”

Contact the writer:

202-662-7270, joe.morton@owh.com

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