By Cheril Lee
Omaha, NE – Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest in conjunction with the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights, filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Darcy Tromanhauser, Director of the Immigrant Program for Nebraska Appleseed, says the petition addresses the serious human rights violations meatpackers face on a daily basis. She says the two groups hope to have a hearing in October and prompt some proactive solutions by Congress.
Tromanhauser says, "for far too long they have been working under conditions that violate fundamental human rights and cause crippling injuries. And that has a devastating effect on families and communities as well as food safety. So some of the key concerns are unrelenting production speed, alarming rates of injuries, extreme temperatures and denial of bathroom use."
Ultimately, Tromanhauser says OSHA needs to regulate work speeds better because of the connection between production speed and worker safety.
Information on the issue is available online at neappleseed.org.