Industrial workers’ accidents plague many Nebraska employees, but the meat-packing industry is particularly dangerous. Some of the injuries that affect the industry include serious cuts, amputations, back strain, repetitive movement injury and many others. The current government now wants to approve speedier production lines while reducing the industry’s oversight.
A recent study by Human Rights Watch shows how these proposed changes would affect industrial workers’ accidents in the meatpacking industry. Some highlights from the report as published in a news article include the following.
- Accelerating meatpacking production lines may place the lives of workers at risk
- Most of the meatpacking workers interviewed for the report say that they fear an increase in production line speeds
- The report points out that these workers already suffer an alarmingly high rate of injury
- Interviewed workers say that they already experience a lot of pressure to increase production without government approval
- If the government continues to reduce oversight of these industries, it could lead to an increase in severe industrial workers’ accidents
From the viewpoint of attorneys who serve and protect suffering employees, these changes suggest an even deeper issue. Along with the risk of suffering catastrophic injury or even death, meatpacking workers are now facing a backward step in the evolution of American labor. If or when these changes go into effect, these workers will lose many of the few rights they have left.
For example, eliminating the cap on production line speed will take away the hard-earned right to a reasonably safe work environment. This means that the hardships endured by the nation’s workforce over the centuries stand for nothing in this modern and so-called enlightened era.
Do your part to address these issues by speaking with an attorney about your employment situation. This is especially important if you encounter resistance in your efforts to acquire compensation after an industrial workers’ accident.