WASHINGTON, DC  – Today, Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) joined Congressman Bennie Thompson (MS-02),Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Hillary Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau, Minor Sinclair of Oxfam America, and former poultry plant workers Lashunda Bobbit of Mississippi and Salvadora Roman of Alabama, for a press conference on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) regulatory change to speed up production from 140 to 175 birds per minute that would result in an increase of injuries in poultry plants.

Chair Fudge’s remarks as prepared for delivery isbelow. Click here for photos.

CBC Chair Marcia Fudge:

“Today, we are here to ask why the USDA is moving forward with a rule that endangers the safety of our poultry workers and our food.

“The majority of poultry workers on the lines are minorities and or women, mostly African American and Latino. Many line workers have been critically injured; are suffering from debilitating pain; or have lost their life because of the deplorable working conditions in poultry plants. Now, the USDA is planning on making things worse.

“Under the claim of ‘modernizing’ poultry plants, the USDA is finalizing a rule that would increase the speed of the processing line speed by 25 percent, from 140 birds per minute to 175. The USDA claims decreasing the number of inspectors and speeding up the lines will save the Department and the poultry industry millions of dollars, but at what cost?

“Instead of protecting these workers through stronger enforcement of safety standards and fair labor practices, is cost savings more important than workers’ health, their lives and the safety of our food?

“Thousands of poultry workers living with painful injuries continue to go to work daily without protest. Until now, many of their stories have not been heard. If the USDA proceeds with this rule, it will only further silence their voices. We refuse to let that happen.

“The Congressional Black Caucus has met with USDA Secretary Vilsack, Department of Labor Secretary Perez and OMB Director Sylvia Burwell, all Administration officials who can halt the progress of this rule. Today, we call on each of them, and David Michaels,Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, to stopit from moving forward.

“Instead of a implementing a rule that will profit the industry on the backs of America’s poultry workers, the Administration must make worker safety and the safety of our food its top priority.”

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