Workers In Meatpacking Plants Still Face High Risk Of Injury

American meatpacking plants have a history of being dangerous places to work, where employees may suffer miserable working conditions and the risk of being maimed.

Workers face high risks of injury despite a 1999 Nebraska law that spelled out their rights and was intended to promote more and better efforts to reduce danger in the packing plants, according to a report issued Thursday.

The risk of injury has not been reduced much and it hasn’t improved the access of injured employees to workers’ compensation, said the study by the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.

In fact, the study said many workers don’t even know that workers’ compensation exists let alone how to apply for it.

The study also points out a longstanding problem that still exists: Many workers are afraid to complain about working conditions, or make an issue of injuries, because they fear being fired.

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The American meatpacking industry first earned a notorious reputation in 1906 with the publication of "The Jungle"by Upton Sinclair. The novel, based on graphic observations from real-life, shocked the nation and prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to have Congress set up the Food and Drug Administration.

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