Southern Catholic Bishops Advocate Justice in the Workplace
41 Bishops Heighten Awareness of “Intolerable” Working Conditions in Poultry Plants

Forty-one Roman Catholic bishops of the South signed a pastoral letter (written in both English and Spanish) in response to the “intolerable” plight of those in the poultry industry–primarily Black women and immigrant Latinos plant workers, and poultry growers and catchers who provide the plentiful chicken that we find on the dinner table at home or at the local restaurant. The bishops’ letter, published during the holiday season, reflects their commitment to the principles of Catholic social teaching.

“We applaud the Catholic bishops of the South for standing, praying, and advocating for workers,” said Kim Bobo, director of the Interfaith Worker Justice. “Too often we bless our food, but fail to think of the workers who prepared it and the blessing they receive by our recognition of their work and the struggle they endure daily in many of these outlaw industries.”

“As teachers in the Church, we bishops continue to add our voices to the struggle for worker justice. This pastoral letter is about awareness,” reads the pastoral introduction, which can be viewed at www.poultry-pastoral.org.

Like most workers, Maria Montez stands for hours on a production line, in a noisy, cold and wet room where chickens drip on everything and everyone. The atmosphere is full of chemical and biological contaminants and she has to perform the same task sometimes more than 1,000 times per shift, often working with a sharp blade.

Montez is a Latino senior citizen who has worked for five years in the poultry processing industry. She works with pain, disability, and numbness in her arms and hands from the motions she repeats hundreds of times during every work shift. The pain often keeps her awake at night and she treats her condition by rubbing her skin with alcohol and has not seen a doctor because she cannot afford the insurance deductible of several hundred dollars. She is not alone in her plight. “A lot of people are also affected with asthma and pneumonia and eye problems,” she says. “That’s what I see the most. People have to leave the plant because of illness. People get fired if they get hurt.”

The bishops offer several next steps, including praying for struggle workers; hearing from both sides of the issue; becoming part of building an alliance between faith groups and all parties affected by industry. More information can be obtained from the Interfaith Worker Justice website at www.iwj.org.