Employers would be required to provide training in any language spoken by at least 5% of work force.
Slaughtering, butchering and packaging meat is among the most essential but dangerous industries in the nation and it relies heavily on immigrant labor.
A state House panel approved legislation Wednesday that would ensure workers in the meatpacking industry receive safety instructions in the language they speak. House Bill 1923 passed with a 14-12 vote along party lines.
That’s essential in workplaces where a fast pace, crowded conditions and sharp blades can lead to serious injuries, the bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Jim Haddock (D-Luzerne), told fellow members of the House Labor and Industry Committee.
He said he knows the dangers from his experience with the lumber and millwork business and from a family butcher shop his father and brother used to run.
“I know how important safety is in a factory where you’re using saws and knives,” he said, showing his hands with all 10 fingers intact. “It is a dangerous profession.”
Data from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration shows 27 workers every day suffer injuries that result in amputation, the loss of an eye or an overnight hospital stay. Many large meat and poultry companies ranked among those with the most severe injuries despite having fewer workers than companies at the top of the list.
“This is not unique to just Pennsylvania, and there are other states that took these protections,” Haddock said.
The bill would require training and notices to be provided in any language spoken by at least 5% of an employer’s workforce. It also would require employers to establish safety committees with representatives of each area of plant information.
The panel passed an amendment striking out a requirement to provide sick leave to ill or injured workers and a requirement for the state Health Department to publish infectious disease response plans in multiple languages.
Wendell Young, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, told the Capital-Star the legislation stems from the union’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic to get food industry workers back to work safely.
The proportion of foreign-born workers increased during the pandemic to nearly half of all employees in the meat and dairy industries as employers faced a workforce shortage, meaning immigrant workers took the brunt of exposure to COVID-19 and other hazards, according to the American Immigration Council.
“We hear from workers in non-union facilities all the time that this is one of the big stumbling blocks to understanding what they need to do in the event of an emergency,” Young said.
Ensuring new employees understand their training and responsibilities is essential, he said, noting that UFCW provides its shop stewards with translation headphones to help with language barriers.
“Failing to do so not only puts them at risk but anyone who works in the facility at risk,” Young said.
Refrigeration systems used to chill food in meat processing plants contain ammonia as refrigerant, Young said. The colorless gas can cause eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, leading to death in cases of severe exposure.
“Knowing what to do, seconds can make the difference between life and death,” he said.
Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), the ranking GOP member of the Labor and Industry Committee, said he opposed HB 1923 because he believes it duplicates requirements that are already in place. The state Department of Labor and Industry did not respond to a question about existing regulations.
Rep. Barbara Gleim (R-Cumberland) said that as a rancher who raises beef cattle, she is concerned about additional costs associated with new regulations.
“If you think meat prices are high now, wait until this legislation is enacted,” Gleim said. “Which regulation in this bill will lower the cost for consumers?”
Haddock said the intent of the legislation is to prevent accidents that require plants to shut down for investigation.
“That plant loses a day’s worth of work …. That worker is no longer in the industry because he’s in the hospital. That causes expense for the employer to retrain or replace a qualified worker,” Haddock said. “So there’s many aspects of this bill that will help businesses that are in meatpacking become safer, operate more efficiently and stop downtime from happening.”
