Last Thursday, three democratic members of Congress, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), reintroduced the Safe Line Speeds During COVID-19 Act. The bill reportedly seeks to protect workers, consumers, and animals by suspending U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “line speed waivers” and associated regulations that permit increased production line speeds at meatpacking plants during the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rep. DeLauro’s press release explains that the proposal comes after the legislative body held hearings on safety protections for meatpacking workers. Reportedly, meat processing plants have become COVID-19 “hotspots,” with more than 57,000 workers testing positive for the virus. The press release also cites a recent study reportedly revealing that “there have been more deaths related to COVID-19 in meat and poultry plants in 2020 than other work-related deaths in the past 15 years in the same industry.”
“It is imperative that we ensure worker safety on slaughter lines,” Rep. Thompson said in a statement. “Safety cannot be exchanged for high production. During this unprecedented time of COVID-19, we should take the necessary precautions to ensure employees are safe while working at meat and poultry establishments.”
Sen. Booker criticized the Trump Administration’s handling of the situation when, last year, it reportedly “approved more than 20 requests from meatpacking plants to exceed regulatory limits on line speeds despite the risks posed to the safety of workers and consumers.” Since then, and following the change in presidential administration, the USDA withdrew a proposed Trump Administration rule to speed poultry processing plant lines by 25%, which food worker unions had challenged.
Consumer watchdog groups have also taken issue with new rules regarding relaxed swine inspection requirements that allow companies to perform their own inspections and lift limits on production speeds, which reportedly make inspections harder to conduct. The Safe Line Speeds During COVID-19 Act would suspend the implementation of this final rule.
