Children illegally worked dangerous overnight shifts at pork processing plant, feds find

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

Updated on: December 2, 2024 / 4:11 PM EST


Federal investigators found nearly a dozen children to be working dangerous, overnight shifts at Seaboard Triumph Foods' pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, Iowa, the Department of Labor announced.

Employed by Guymon, Oklahoma-based sanitation contractor Qvest, 11 kids allegedly used corrosive cleaners to sanitize head splitters, jaw pullers, bandsaws, neck clippers and other equipment at the Seaboard Triumph Foods facility from at least September 2019 through September 2023, the DOL stated in a news release on Friday. Federal law prohibits minors from working in meat processing due to an increased risk of injury.

Seaboard Foods is among the nation's biggest pork producers. In addition to Iowa, Seaboard Foods, a division of Seaboard Corporation, has operations in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah, and in Mexico, according to the company's website. "These findings illustrate Seaboard Triumph Foods' history of children working illegally in their Sioux City facility since at least September 2019.

Despite changing sanitation contractors, children continued to work in dangerous occupations at this facility," Michael Lazzeri, the Midwest regional administrator with the DOL's Wage and Hour division, stated in the release. Qvest must pay $171,919 in child labor civil monetary penalties and take steps to prevent it from illegally hiring minors again. Qvest and Seaboard did not return requests for comment.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iowa-sioux-falls-child-labor/

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Link to DOL NEWS RELEASE - Qvest LLC must pay $171K after federal investigators find sanitation contractor employed 11 children at Sioux City pork processing plant

[live love laugh]

1. HOW Is this happening??!! The newz is complicitly silent.

We ARE going back.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. They want to distract you

with the comings and goings of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce or showing the wife of RFK Jr. hawking products in front of her naked husband while he is showering.

[Ray Bruns]

10. You forgot about Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Gotta keep the proles entertained

[LonePirate]

2. This will no longer be illegal come January 20. We're so fucked as a country.

[FSogol]

11. And thanks to the incoming admin, they will no longer be eligible for overtime pay or work protections!

[C0RI0LANUS]

4. American industry was built on poorly paid labor. These children received no education and no social security.

Child labor in 1908.


Mining crew in Pennsylvania circa 1910.


Turn of the century child labor. Note some of the kids can't afford shoes working in a factory.

[madaboutharry]

5. Gov. Kim Reynolds (Iowa-R) is a ghoul who believes in child labor.

She is a monster, as evidenced here:

https://www.epi.org/blog/iowa-governor-signs-one-of-the-most-dangerous-rollbacks-of-child-labor-laws-in-the-country-14-states-have-now-introduced-bills-putting-children-at-risk/

[IowaUnionman]

9. Kim Jong reynolds

The first year the republicans passed this law allowing child labor we had one fatality.
It was on the clean up crew , an underage young man died in a meatpacking plant.
Governor Kim is responsible for that death.

[Cheezoholic]

6. 171k fine. That's a Saturdays worth of greens fees for the corporate board room at a FatAss golf club n/t

[C0RI0LANUS]

7. Then why didn't Trumpf nominate this harridan to be Secretary of Labor? She's tailor-made for the post.

"Hiss! No, my pretty!"

[sakabatou]

8. "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair is a MUST READ.

[ReRe]

12. Seriously!

If you are a Democrat and you haven't read this book, get busy. Go to your library and get it. If they don't have a copy of it, they have a process called ILL (Inter-Library Loan). Fill out the form, they will call you when it gets in. Doesn't cost a dime.

[DBoon]

13. "The Jungle" is in the public domain - you can download for free

https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/140

[ReRe]

15. There you go!

My way was the old fashioned way, since I am old fashioned. Thanks for the new fashioned way!

[Igel]

14. And find them foster homes.

Some adult--a parent or guardian--was primarily responsible for these kids' wellbeing and safety.

Overnight?

Working illegal numbers of hours?

"But your honor, we didn't know!" or "We needed the money!" ... Yeah, they shouldn't be allowed to play innocent or jean-valjean to get out of this.

[samplegirl]

16. I'll bet Sarah Huckabee

Loves this!