Fast Food Nation

Ch. 8Haley Higdon, Tom Lee, Mike Jones

• Us consumers merely see what is served to us between two buns at fast food restaurents: a juicy burger ready to be eaten– Reality: workers suffer in

slaughterhouses to mass produce the beef to meet the America’s demand

Employees/Employers

• Most workers are “at-will” employees, meaning they can be easily fired at a supervisor’s discretion

• The threat of termination discourages workers from reporting safety concerns, injuries, or other serious issues.

• Supervisors use a variety of intimidation tactics to suppress workers’ concerns and make it clear that other people are always available to replace them.

• As a result, workers are conditioned to accept a hazardous and demeaning work environment if they want to remain employed.

“The Line”• Single largest factor contributing to worker injuries is the speed at

which the animals are killed and processed.• In an industry where profit margins are slim and volume is everything,

workers are endlessly pressured to kill more animals in less time. • Rather than regulate line speeds for the interest of worker safety, line

speed is limited only by federal sanitation laws.• Most facilities operate nearly 24 hours a day 7 days a week, killing and

processing hundreds or thousands of animals each hour. • As one worker stated: The line is so fast there is no time to sharpen the

knife. The knife gets dull and you have to cut harder. That’s when it really starts to hurt, and that’s when you cut yourself

Kenny pt.1While visiting meatpacking town, the author met several injured people who where all

injured in different ways, yet they all sounded familiar.• Kenny Dobins was a Monfort employee for almost sixteen years.

– had a hard childhood growing up in an abusive home.

• After catching a 90 pound box with one arm the force threw him in to a convertor belt and the metal teeth on the rim of the belt pierced his lower back.

• His employer claimed just a pulled muscle, so he stayed home for a couple days and then went back to work.

• Pain was so bad that he went to another doctor to get a second opinion. This doctor said he had a pair of severely herniated disks.

• Kenny had back surgery and when it didn't work he went to a pain clinic.

Kenny pt. 2• Kenny was illiterate, so he felt a strong loyalty to Monfort• Manager tried to make Kenny quit to save his company and reputation, but Kenny

never realized it. He still thought people were still honest and good.• Kenny also badly injured by chemicals that he was not given correct gear to be

working with. • Kenny had to drive a truck with broken windshield wipers.

– One morning he opened the door to see where he was and was struck by a train.• He went on to break his leg and then shatter his ankle at Monfort.• He was later fired after doing some of the most disgusting jobs that the plant had

to offer. No one told him he was fired. He found out when the insurance checks kept being returned by the post office.

• Today kenny is in bad health. His heart was permanently damaged from the heart attack he suffered earlier. He is now unable to work anywhere.

• Monfort used Kenny until he couldn't be used anymore and then tossed him in the trash.

Mental Problems

• Some jobs at slaughterhouses can cause mental issues– Jobs include those who stand in a pool of blood all

day slitting the throats of cows, shoot the animals with tranqualizing guns, etc.

– One jobs requires employee to simply reach into the cow with bare hands and rip out the kidney. The organ is slapped onto a table, sent away, and the next cow comes down the line.

THE WORST• Cleaning crews have the worst job in America• Most of these workers are illegal immigrants• They earn 1/3 lower then those of regular production employees.• The temperature in the factory begins to rise to over 100 degrees,

while spraying the mixture of water and chlorine heated to about 180 degrees.

• The fog causes visibility to drop to about 5 feet.• Many deaths happen with this crew (Ex. a man was beheaded by a

dehiding machine)• Sinkinh tanks while being cleaned have a lot of gases that have

killed 5 people listed in the book.• Carlos Vincente was pulled into the cogs of a conveyer belt at an

excel Plant in Fort Morgan.

Injuries

•When a worker is injured, employers will lie about the incident in the required paperwork and files that must be filled out• Make seem less severe to save reputation• Protect from law suits

•Workers usually forced to come back to work the day after a major surgery or other medical operation

THE END