We're still waiting for brave folks to send photos and/or stories of their injuries. We know you're out there! Just hit the comment button.
Within the last month, a young Chin man has suffered broken ribs as a result of an accident on the 'kill floor.'
A young Chin woman has shown me two of her fingers frozen into an odd position from holding onto a vacuum pipe eight hours a day, seven days a week.
Another comment from a worker: "JBS is familiar to us, because they are like the Burmese generals."
Friday, January 1, 2010
Thursday, November 19, 2009
next generation
Let's keep them out of meatpacking plants. A good way to start is to get them reading! We've started a giveaway of children's books at the local Burmese market. Donations of gently used books always welcome!
Monday, October 26, 2009
A Little Background
When Burmese refugees, mostly Chin and Karen, resettled in this area some years ago, work was pretty easy to find. A few folks found work in Chinese restaurants or sushi bars, but most people found jobs in the local auto parts factories. Families started out in apartments, but quite a few were able to buy their own homes.
A year and a half ago or so, newcomers started finding it difficult to get those factory jobs. The newcomers didn't speak much English, if any, and the factories (mostly Japanese owned) wanted a more skilled workforce. And then the economic meltdown hit and the factories started laying off.
So one of the leaders in the community, a Baptist pastor, set out to find new job opportunities for his flock. What he found was a meatpacking plant about an hour's drive away. It's gone by different names over the years, Murco, Packerland, Smithfield, JBS, but the place remains pretty much the same even as the owners change. A dangerous, bloody place to work.
The pastor started out there too, as an interpreter, but quit after he saw the working conditions, the injuries, and the callous treatment from the bosses.
Because this is the only employment available for most of the Burmese, they are of course loathe to complain, either formally or informally. As they tell me over and over, "We have no choice!"
When I visit them in their homes to do their immigration paperwork, I see their hands that are swollen double their size or that cannot close into a fist or that have a broken finger. The man whose hands are pictured above this post was unable to pick up a paper clip.
All the meatpacking Burmese have legal status, by the way. Refugees are give permission to work right away when they enter the U.S. and can file for their green card after one year has passed. This makes them attractive to JBS, which in its previous incarnations often was in trouble with the government for hiring undocumented workers.
I came up with the idea for this blog, so I can post pictures of injuries and chronicle my efforts to work with the community to make their situation better.
Anyone who wants to share photos of meatpacking injuries (no faces, please, unless it's you and you don't care), please leave a comment with your email address.
A year and a half ago or so, newcomers started finding it difficult to get those factory jobs. The newcomers didn't speak much English, if any, and the factories (mostly Japanese owned) wanted a more skilled workforce. And then the economic meltdown hit and the factories started laying off.
So one of the leaders in the community, a Baptist pastor, set out to find new job opportunities for his flock. What he found was a meatpacking plant about an hour's drive away. It's gone by different names over the years, Murco, Packerland, Smithfield, JBS, but the place remains pretty much the same even as the owners change. A dangerous, bloody place to work.
The pastor started out there too, as an interpreter, but quit after he saw the working conditions, the injuries, and the callous treatment from the bosses.
Because this is the only employment available for most of the Burmese, they are of course loathe to complain, either formally or informally. As they tell me over and over, "We have no choice!"
When I visit them in their homes to do their immigration paperwork, I see their hands that are swollen double their size or that cannot close into a fist or that have a broken finger. The man whose hands are pictured above this post was unable to pick up a paper clip.
All the meatpacking Burmese have legal status, by the way. Refugees are give permission to work right away when they enter the U.S. and can file for their green card after one year has passed. This makes them attractive to JBS, which in its previous incarnations often was in trouble with the government for hiring undocumented workers.
I came up with the idea for this blog, so I can post pictures of injuries and chronicle my efforts to work with the community to make their situation better.
Anyone who wants to share photos of meatpacking injuries (no faces, please, unless it's you and you don't care), please leave a comment with your email address.
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