Religious Leaders Call on DOL to Listen to Cries of Poultry Workers
U.S. DOL Assures National Interfaith Committee Voices Will be Heard

Washington, D.C. – A coalition led by the Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ), delivered a letter signed by more than 150 nationally recognized religious and community leaders to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) offices in key poultry producing areas: Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Little Rock, Cleveland and Raleigh, N.C.

The coalition urged the U.S. DOL to pursue strict enforcement of wage and hour laws violated by the poultry industry. The D.C. delegation met with Joe Kennedy, acting Assistant Secretary of the U.S. DOL. He assured the group that U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao would listen to all sides before making a decision concerning current wage and hour lawsuits filed by poultry workers and regarding violations uncovered by the DOL’s own investigations.

A 2000 DOL study found that 100 percent of the poultry plants in the survey failed to pay workers for all hours worked, and 35 percent of poultry workers had illegal deductions taken from their paychecks.

“Under the former administration, the DOL worked in good faith with us to ensure that the poultry industry would be held accountable for reported abuses. We are confident that the Bush Administration will be even more willing to work with us,” said Kim Bobo, Executive Director of the IWJ. “People of faith must come together to urge the DOL to continue proper scrutiny, enforcement, and compliance regarding laws governing the poultry industry.”

Currently, hundreds of workers are seeking back wages allegedly owed in a federal lawsuit. One company could be taking as much as $10 million a year from poultry workers, suggest worker advocates.

The coalition is concerned that the poultry industry is attempting to undermine the current legal efforts of poultry workers. According to several recent reports, poultry industry leaders are trying to persuade Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to reduce scrutiny of the industry and ease up on the establishing of future compliance mechanisms.

“We urge the Department of Labor and Secretary Elaine Chao to pursue strict enforcement of our wage and hour laws to ensure that the poultry industry is held accountable for past violations and that workers receive the back wages that they were unlawfully denied,” said Aisha Qaasim, staff attorney of Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).

“Poultry corporations employ some of our nation’s most vulnerable workers, including immigrant workers. They have traditionally been hired by industries with the worst record of compliance with labor laws and are particularly vulnerable to exploitation because of their unfamiliarity with our legal system, language barriers and reluctance to file formal complaints,” said Qaasim. “A strong and fair settlement to existing litigation is needed to ensure that these workers benefit equally from the protections available under current labor laws,” she added.

Among the groups involved in the five city action were the Arkansas Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, the Delmarva Poultry Justice Alliance, the Georgia Poultry Justice Alliance, the Metro Atlanta Religion/Labor Roundtable, the North Carolina Interfaith Alliance for Worker Justice, United Church of Christ (Cleveland), Catholic Committee of the South (Atlanta), the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and the Religious Action Center.

Since 1996 the Interfaith Worker Justice has been calling upon religious values to educate, organize, and mobilize the religious community on issues and campaigns that will improve wages, benefits, and working conditions for workers, especially low-wage workers.