In this past Sunday’s edition, 60 Minutes shed light on a shameful practice in the beef industry with its coverage of the unconscionable use of child labor in 13 meat packing plants across 8 states. Why, Why, Why?!? This isn’t 1906 when Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, exposed the terrible working conditions in Chicago’s meat packing plants which resulted in the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Just as appalling is using 13 and 14 year old children to clean up beef plants in 2023.

Who is at fault for these shocking child labor practices? Well, the accusing finger of blame is being pointed at Packer’s Sanitation Service, Inc., (PSSI), a subsidiary of Blackstone who advertises themselves as the world’s largest alternative asset manager, with $991 billion of assets under management. PSSI contracts with many meat plants in our industry. The plant in the 60 Minutes exposé located in Grand Island, Neb., is owned by the largest meat company in the world, JBS.

According to the spokesperson interviewed in the 60 Minute piece, The US Department of Labor (DOL) estimated that they found over 100 children employed at the implicated plants. The DOL spokesperson stated that the number was probably much higher. Statements from both PSSI and Blackstone said they had the highest standards of checking the qualifications of those they put to work in the plants. However, PSSI has now signed a consent decree pledging not to employ children in the future. Blackstone also denied knowing that such practices were being used by PSSI. In some small form of retribution, PSSI has replaced its CEO.

The brush of shame for these egregious employment practices paints us all in the meat industry. Pictures taken within the JBS plant of children in clean up gear holding brooms donned with helmets clearly identifying them as PSSI employees are not just shameful but heartbreaking. How could anyone allow this to happen? Did JBS know of these small workers entering the plant during a nightly shift change as documented by DOL? It would seem based on their small stature alone to certainly raise questions about their age.

The DOL spokesperson mentioned that the plants experienced high labor turnover especially for their night shift cleanup crews. They needed labor to do the plant cleanup work and the majority of the children so employed were immigrants or from those families that had recently immigrated to the US.

What are we going to do now?

Here’s what I think we should do ASAP. One of our country’s most exasperating problems is the influx of immigrants across our southern border. And that is exacerbated with expiration of Title 42 United States Code today, which had allowed the US to send those who crossed the border but could not qualify back into Mexico or other countries from whence they came. It is estimated that over 150,000 potential immigrants are waiting at our southern border for the rule to expire today so they can cross unfettered by Title 42.

The total meat industry including the processors and their affiliated trade organizations must work together to institute a program to help undocumented immigrants at our southern border gain documentation with the promise of a job. Why should we do that? It solves two problems that seemingly have no other solution from Congress or the president. The meat industry needs labor. Immigrants are a labor source. We must meld these two with all the attendant practices that will not just insure a labor supply but also guarantee a livable wage, job training and suitable living accommodations for meat industry employees of proper age, coupled with the ability to effectively clean our meat processing plants.

The industry must make a deep dive to both fill its employment needs and also prove to meat consumers that we are a conscientious industry that abhors the child labor practices recently exposed and are taking all the steps necessary to help those in need to qualify for admission into the US with the promise of a job with full training and a place to live.

Not our job, you say? Well, how do we look right now employing children because we can’t find anyone else to work in our plants?

Children on the night shift? Shame on us!

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