Slaughterhouse Workers

5 am. 40 degrees. Dark and unforgiving.

Meat packing has been a necessary part of the American culture since early colonial times. What started out as a smaller industry, increased dramatically as the amount of people in America flourished. The meat packing industry found its capital in Chicago as thousands of immigrants occupied the surrounding area of the factories and were in desperate need of work. The meat industry took advantage of the immigrants; hence they lay off American workers and hired more immigrants for cheaper pay.

As technology began to change, so did the structure of the meat factories. The amount of animals killed per day increased rapidly with the introduction of the conveyer belt. Therefore, more work was needed in the factories, yet they hired fewer workers. In an environment where workers are already surrounded by hundreds of workers, sharp objects and animal remains, they were only subjected to a higher injury rate as fewer workers were highered. The significant amount of injuries taking place in the factories affects the majority of the workers lives. In many cases they are in need of medical attention and physical therapy.

Workers not only deal with the physical challenges and injuries of working in a factory, but they are confronted with the emotional and psychological damages of killing hundreds of animals each day and being confronted with condescending attitudes from their supervisors. At the end of the day is it worth it?

http://itrs.scu.edu/faculty/Bousquet/winter07/ENGL2_Th/bmarkert_winter07/meathome.htm