THE CRUELEST CUTS OBSERVER SPECIAL REPORT: First of Six Parts the Human Cost of Bringing Poultry to Your Table

DALE JR. RACES OFF WITH SHOOTOUT VICTORY. IN SPORTS

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2008 + CDEF • Price varies by county| $1.50 www.charlotte.com

THE CRUELEST CUTS OBSERVER SPECIAL REPORT: First of Six Parts The human cost of bringing poultry to your table

PHOTOS BY JOHN D. SIMMONS – [email protected] Chickens move down the line at House of Raeford’s West Columbia, S.C., plant, where about 90 percent of workers are Latino. Thousands of cutting motions per shift can leave workers’ hands in pain.

INSIDE TODAY House of Raeford Farms masks 2A| Editor Rick POULTRY’S MARK: RUINED HANDS Thames: The most A quarter-century ago, vulnerable workers. injuries inside Carolinas plants poultry processing 11A| Carolinas are By Kerry Hall, Ames Alexander low the law and strive to protect workers. changed forever with the major poultry producers. and Franco Ordoñez But company and government records introduction of a revolu- Staff Writers and interviews with more than 120 current 12A| Experts: Federal tionary product: the In an industry rife with danger, House of and former employees show: safety data misleading. Chicken McNugget. Raeford Farms depicts itself as a safe place • House of Raeford’s 800-worker plant in to work. Company records suggest rela- West Columbia, S.C., reported no muscu- 13A| Record-keeping The bite-sized pieces ig- tively few workers are injured each year as loskeletal disorders over four years. Ex- chief: OSHA failing nited demand for new poul- they kill, cut and package millions of chick- perts say that’s inconceivable. MSDs, in- workers. try offerings. Now, dozens of Karina Zorita ens and turkeys. cluding carpal tunnel syndrome, are the 15A| How carpal specialty cuts – and hundreds But an Observer investigation shows the most common work-related injuries af- tunnel syndrome N.C. poultry giant has masked the extent flicting poultry workers. of chicken and turkey products – are available to con- happens and hurts. of injuries behind its plant walls. • Its Greenville, S.C., plant has boasted of sumers. The revolution has come with consequences. The company has compiled misleading a five-year safety streak with no lost-time ONLINE VIDEO In America’s poultry plants, which rely increasingly on injury reports and has defied regulators as accidents. But the plant kept that streak vulnerable Latino immigrants, workers’ hands are more it satisfies a growing appetite for America’s alive by bringing injured employees back Scenes from inside most popular meat. And employees say the to the factory hours after surgery. a poultry plant; threatened than ever. company has ignored, intimidated or fired • The company has broken the law by fail- hear workers talk Karina Zorita knew little of this when she considered a workers who were hurt on the job. ing to record injuries on government safe- about their pain. poultry job four years ago. IN THE BIG PICTURE, 15A House of Raeford officials say they fol- SEE POULTRY|11A www.charlotte.com/poultry

Nation | 3A STORYCORPS IN CHARLOTTE INSIDE Writers strike Politics | 4A could end today In sound booth, lives become legacies By Elizabeth Leland Key leaders of the Writers Guild Obama wins [email protected] of America endorse deal to end Let me tell you a story about stories. in 3 states 14-week-old walkout. Angie Forde asked Dawoud Assad to de- scribe the saddest day of his life. He told her Barack Obama swept the about the time he visited his mother in a Louisiana primary and nursing home and she didn’t recognize him. Arts & Living | 1E Though Forde had never heard Assad’s caucuses in Nebraska and story before, she knew his story. It was her Washington state Saturday. A dancer’s dream story, too. Her father, who had Alzheimer’s, often mistook her for someone else. Meet a 23-year-old Charlottean Sunny Telling stories is how we connect – as who made the leap to the family, as friends, as a city of 695,995 people Low: 37. High: 57. and, on a global level, as a civilization. How Clear and windy renowned Ailey dance theater. today. Cold could we make sense of our lives today, if tonight with lows in the 20s. somebody hadn’t passed along stories of Sunny and cool Monday. what went before? Forecast, 10B. Arts & Living .1E Local & State.1B That is why a silver Airstream trailer is Books ...... 5E Moneywise...1D parked at the library at North Tryon and GARY O’BRIEN – [email protected] Celebrations .1H Movies...... 6E Sixth streets. Inside, people like Dawoud Leslie Williams, 50, and her father, George Linker, 78, interview each other Friday, the 1F 8B Classified...... Obituaries..... Assad are telling stories. They are part of StoryCorps MobileBooth’s first full day in action outside the Main Library in Charlotte. Editorial ...... 22A Sports...... 1C NPR’s national StoryCorps project, which ©2008The Charlotte Horoscope ....6E Travel...... 1I Observer Vol. 139, No. 41 will record 10,000 stories to be archived at Online Extras Delivery Assistance the Library of Congress. Go inside the StoryCorps MobileBooth and see how Charlotte participants’ life stories are or to Subscribe...... 800-532-5350 SEE STORYCORPS|5A captured at WWW.CHARLOTTE.COM/news 2A SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2008 • THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER | www.charlotte.com

Top romantic retreats Coastal Living magazine names top island destinations just in time for Valentine’s Day. 1. Bermuda 2. Manhattan (New York City) 3. Big Island of Hawaii 4. Whidbey Island, Wash. 5. Lovers Key, Fla. The ‘A’ List — COASTAL LIVING MAGAZINE MUSIC, FILM CLIPS AT SERVICE IN PERTH Dishing It Out Ledger gets an Aussie farewell SARAH By Min Lee romantically involved with Led- tional Aboriginal wind instru- JOHN D. SIMMONS – [email protected] AARTHUN Associated Press ger while filming ment, performer Levi Islam said. A worker trims wings as chickens move past. Many poultry PERTH, Australia — Heath Led- “Brokeback Rock songs were also played – workers have no standing in this country and are reluctant to ger’s family and friends and Aus- Mountain,” ar- Bob Dylan’s “The Times They complain about poor working conditions. Aspiring country crooners: tralia’s entertainment elite bade rived at the serv- Are A-Changin,” the Beatles’ This is your chance for your him farewell at a private memo- ice with Ledger’s “Here Comes the Sun,” “Wish big break. rial service Saturday in his parents in a six- You Were Here” by Pink Floyd “Nashville Star” is casting hometown. The 28-year-old ac- car motorcade. and Neil Young’s “Old Man.” Poultry series for its next season, and the tor died Jan. 22 in his Manhattan The 75-minute Organizers also showed foot- show’s producers are looking apartment from a prescription service kicked off Ledger age from Ledger’s films and of for untapped talent in the drug overdose. with the perfor- 2-year-old Matilda, his daughter Charlotte area. Michelle Williams, who became mance of a didgeridoo, a tradi- with Williams. exposes a new, Haven’t heard of the show? Well, that’s because it’s been hidden on cable television for CAUGHT ON CAMERA Musicians the first five seasons. Now, get silent subclass ready for primetime – the show is coming to NBC. pay tribute, ––––––– A new network comes with EDITOR new (relaxed) rules. Anyone ‘respect’ to Neglect of workers 16 and older may audition, and for the first time, the has ugly precedent search will be open to solo Franklin acts, duets and singing trios. in Carolinas history Country bar Coyote Joe’s is ––––––– the appropriate spot for the LOS ANGELES — John Legend, Lil open call Wednesday from 7 Mama, Corinne Bailey Rae and gos- Today we ask you to join us Rick Thames to 11 p.m. pel singer Shirley Caesar paid for a six-day series on the plight The winner of “Nashville their “Respect” to Aretha Franklin of Carolinas workers who put their silence and vulnerability. Star” will receive a coveted re- in a musical tribute to the Queen America’s most popular meat Will we allow such condi- cording contract with a major of Soul. on the table. tions to go unchecked again? DAN STEINBERG – ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO label. They and other stars helped These workers – about That is the broader question SO GLAMOROUS: Singer Fergie (left) and Interscope Geffen A&M launch Grammy weekend Fri- 28,000 of them in the Carolinas raised by an Observer investiga- The ‘A’ List is edited by Sarah Aarthun. Records Chairman Jimmy Iovine pose at a party honoring day by honoring the 65-year-old –process chicken and turkey in tion. Reach her at Timbaland in Los Angeles on Friday. R&B diva as MusiCares Person all its forms. Whole birds, fillets, It’s also all the more reason [email protected]. of the Year. nuggets, slices, cubes, sausage you should be concerned about Franklin is up for her 18th and even hot dogs. the treatment of these workers. Grammy tonight, nominated for It may surprise you to learn Our team of reporters and ed- a duet with Mary J. Blige. that most of the workers speak itors spent 22 months inter- — ASSOCIATED PRESS Spanish. Many of them entered viewing more than 200 poultry

Today: Feb. 10 L More Grammys coverage on the country illegally. workers throughout the South- 4E. Should that matter as you east and analyzing industry consider the working condi- documents. Their investigation tions you will read about? soon led them to focus on one of Renfro OD’d on Isay yes, but maybe not for the largest Carolinas-based the most obvious reason. poultry producers, House of heroin, morphine It should matter because the Raeford. Its eight plants have neglect of these workers ex- been cited for more serious LOS ANGELES — The death last poses an ugly dimension to a safety violations than all but Dern Roberts HERMANN J. KNIPPERTZ – ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO month of 25-year-old actor Brad new subclass in our society. A two other poultry companies in Birthdays CHECK OUT HIS INK: Actor Tom Arnold shows off a tattoo during a Renfro was caused by a heroin disturbing subclass of compli- recent years – and more than photo call for his movie “Garden of the Night” at the 58th and morphine overdose, accord- ant workers with few, if any, some companies several times Actor Robert Wagner, 78. International Film Festival Berlinale in Berlin on Saturday. The ing to the coroner’s report. rights. their size. Singer Roberta Flack, 71. festival runs through next Sunday. The Los Angeles County Cor- Isay disturbing because Our journalists found evi- Olympic gold-medal swimmer oner’s Office ruled the death North and South Carolina share dence that House of Raeford Mark Spitz, 58. was accidental. His body was some regrettable history of has failed to report serious in- Country singer Lionel Cart- found on Jan. 15 in his home. building economies on the juries, including broken bones wright, 48. TEEN ‘IDOL’: — ASSOCIATED PRESS backs of such workers. and carpal tunnel syndrome. ABC News correspondent Former “American Before the Civil War, slaves They discovered that plant offi- George Stephanopoulos, 47. Idol” winner Jordin Talks halt between and poor sharecroppers pow- cials often dismissed workers’ Actress Laura Dern, 41. Sparks poses at a ered the region’s tobacco and requests for medical care that Actress Emma Roberts, 17. party honoring Burton, his ex cotton plantations. Early in the would cost the company mon- Timbaland in Los 20th century, children as young ey. In History Angeles on Friday. LOS ANGELES — Mediation as 8 were put to work in Caroli- They also found that House 1968: U.S. figure skater Peggy talks collapsed between Tim Bur- nas textile mills to help feed of Raeford has undergone a Fleming won America’s only ton and his ex-girlfriend, who their poor families. work force transformation. In gold medal of the Winter claims she was cheated out of Consider the parallel to ille- the early 1990s, its workers were Olympic Games in Greno- her rights to assets that the di- gal immigrants. Same as slaves largely African Americans. To- ble, France. rector promised her during their and sharecroppers, same as the day, between 80 percent and 90 — ASSOCIATED PRESS nearly decade-long relationship, cotton mill workers derisively percent of workers at some of attorneys said. The legal fight is termed “lintheads,” this sub- its plants are Latinos. Most have scheduled to play out before Los class is now a scorned bunch. no legal standing in this coun- IF YOU SPY A CELEBRITY Angeles Superior Court Judge And yet they help power our try; most are poor. IN CHARLOTTE, LET US Harold Cherness on Aug. 12. economy. We live in houses They are our newest sub- KNOW! Lisa Marie, a former Calvin they built. We drive on high- class. Send photos or words about it Klein model, met Burton at a ways they paved. We eat the If you look beneath Ameri- to club in 1991 and went on to star chicken and turkey they pre- ca’s entanglements with slavery saarthun@charlotteobser- in several of his movies while pared. and child labor, you will find ver.com. Be sure to tell us your the couple lived together. Bur- Illegal immigrants often take governments that failed fa- name and a daytime phone DAN STEINBERG – ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO ton broke up with her nearly 10 the least desirable jobs, earning mously to balance a free market number. years later. — ASSOCIATED PRESS low wages, because those jobs against the inherent promise of lift them and their families from basic human rights. the poverty they left behind in And today? No question, their homelands. failed government policies pro- As a group, they are com- duced our present crisis over il- Lottery Drawings pulsively compliant, ever-con- legal immigration. Yet Washing- ––––––– scious that one complaint could ton’s official approaches to this @charlotte.com Corrections and lead to their firing or arrest or issue continue to range from Here are the winning numbers deportation. half-hearted to demagogic. Look and Listen Clarifications selected Saturday. “Some speak out, but most of We should demand that our N.C. LOTTERY these workers just wanted to re- leaders repair those policies • The Cruelest Cuts: Watch video scenes from inside the poultry main in the shadows,” said with realistic solutions. But as The Observer strives to be plant as the Observer investigates the House of Raeford Farms: CAROLINA PICK 3 Franco Ordoñez, a reporter citizens and consumers, we accurate and fair. Those www.charlotte.com/poultry 6-6-7 who spent months speaking to should also insist on humane values are crucial to our • NASCAR Season Begins: For more coverage from workers in the Latino commu- treatment for this new subclass relationship with readers. CAROLINA CASH 5 Daytona International Speedway, including race results, blogs, nities surrounding the poultry of Latino immigrants who now We are committed to 17-35-25-5-10 notebooks and slideshows, log in to: www.thatsracin.com plants. “It’s just not worth it, work to the benefit of many in correcting our mistakes • Black Tie: Who’s on the scene at parties, benefits and galas? S.C. LOTTERY considering how much they’ve this country. promptly. Corrections from Olivia Fortson captures the scene: www.charlotte.com/living already risked, to draw more at- We’ve learned from our his- all main Observer sections PICK 3 • Your Story: Go inside the StoryCorps mobile, which is in tention to themselves – even if tory. We are better than that. are published here. Errors Midday: 6-2-1 Evening: 6-7-8 Charlotte through February, and see how facilitators capture they’re hurt. They’re like the on Opinion and Viewpoint people telling their life stories: www.charlotte.com/news PICK 4 perfect victims.” Contact are corrected on those • Hoops: Check out a slideshow with shots from Saturday’s action Midday: 8-2-5-5 Evening: And, as you will read today, [email protected] or around the Carolinas and the ACC: www.charlotte.com/hoops pages. Errors from our 4-9-8-7 businesses take advantage of 704-358-5001. • Travel: Readers send photos holding copies of the Observer from regional publications are distant locations: www.charlotte.com/travel corrected on page 2 of those POWERBALL • NFL: What do you think of the Panthers reaching a deal with sections. 4-23-24-30-43 defensive tackle Damione Lewis? Express your thoughts on our A photo in Saturday’s Powerball: 28 Power Play: 5 Inside the Panthers blog at: www.charlotte.com/panthers Observer of a woman out- Poem starter for your sweetie • Blotter: Find latest crimes in Mecklenburg side the Cabarrus County County: www.charlotte.com/news Courthouse was actually For Valentine’s Day on Thurs- Love’s not composed of endless • Golf: See a slideshow of the Pebble Beach an unidentified woman, day, a fill-in-the-blank sonnet directions National Pro-Am: www.charlotte.com/golf not the mother of Lisa GOT A STORY OR by reporter Dan Zak: But of something freer – a Greene. The photo caption (1-syllable animal, singular) Connect with the Observer PHOTO IDEA? was incorrect. Call metro editor Your (1-syllable body part, plu- in flight. • Inside the NBA: New Jersey beat Charlotte on Cindy Montgomery at ral) are ruddy in winter’s Shall I compare thee to my last Friday, and reporter Rick Bonnell says Bobcats 704-358-5040 or e-mail harsh light lover? 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JOHN D. SIMMONS – [email protected] The House of Raeford plant in West Columbia, S.C., processes 750,000 chickens a week. Chickens are de-feathered, gutted and conveyed to processing lines. The company says it has “programs in place to provide a safe and respectful work environment for all business associates. These programs adhere to government regulations and guidelines …”

A poultry leader House of Raeford Pain of poultry More than 80 percent of the nation's poultry is processed in the South. North Carolina ranks second in Headquarters: The privately held turkey processing, behind Minnesota, and fourth in chicken processing. About 50 processing plants are company is based in Raeford in work is found spread across the Carolinas, including seven House of Raeford plants. Eastern North Carolina. Poultry plant locations Processing plants: Four in North 85 Carolina, three in South Carolina near plants House of Raeford 95 Farms 77 40 85 and one in Louisiana. ––––––– Raleigh Hickory 85 Employees: About 6,000. 40 Poultry from 1A 40 Asheville Annual sales: Nearly $900 million, N.C. including some to China, Afghani- 26 Charlotte 40 ty logs, a top OSHA official says. 85 Raeford stan and other countries. • At four of the company’s largest Car- Ranking: It’s among the nation’s olinas plants, company first-aid atten- Rose Hill Greenville 77 top 10 chicken and turkey produc- dants and supervisors have dismissed 85 S.C. 95 ers. some workers’ requests to see a doctor 26 – even when they complained of debil- North Carolina’s Wilmington Production: Slaughters and pro- poultry industry Columbia 20 Florence itating pain. employs more than cesses about 29 million pounds of Companies have a financial incentive 20,000 workers. Its Hemingway chicken and turkey each week. to hide injuries. Ignoring them lowers 20 plants process more 95 Customers: costs associated with compensating in- than 700 million chickens Restaurants including Blimpie, jured workers for medical care and lost each year. • Golden Corral and Ryan’s. wages. South Carolina’s poultry industry 95 26 • Schools around the U.S., includ- Also, the government rewards com- employs about 8,000 workers. Its Charleston panies that report low injury rates by plants process more than 200 ing Charlotte-Mecklenburg inspecting them less often. And reg- million chickens annually. The amount of poultry processed in North Carolina Schools. ulators rarely check whether compa- each year – nearly 3 million tons – is equal to the • Stores including nies are reporting accurately. SOURCES: North Carolina Poultry Federation, South Carolina weight of about 20 Queen Mary 2 ocean liners. Harris Teeter, Food Government statistics show a de- Poultry Federation, Manufacturers' News, Observer research TED MELLNIK–[email protected] WM PITZER–[email protected] Lion and Lowes cade-long decline in injuries among Foods. The compa- poultry workers. Critics say the num- ny’s deli meat is bers are misleading. They point to one marketed under the government measure showing that em- name “Lakewood ployees in toy stores are more likely Claudette Plantation.” than poultry workers to develop mus- Outerbridge says • Distribution companies that sup- culoskeletal disorders. her hands were ply food to restaurants and institu- Experts say that’s implausible; poul- tional kitchens. try workers routinely make more than injured at a House of SOURCES: Observer research, House of Raeford, 20,000 cutting motions a shift, and the Raeford plant in Dun & Bradstreet, Watt Publishing, National work often leaves them with nerve and Raeford, where her Poultry and Food Distributors Association muscle damage. House of Raeford and other poultry job included cutting companies depend heavily on workers’ turkey gizzards. “I hands to turn thousands of birds each would go to work carpal tunnel syndrome and later per- day into convenient cuts for restau- formed surgery, she said. She settled a sick or I would go to rants, stores and cafeterias. Companies workers’ compensation case with the increasingly rely on Latino immigrants, work in pain, and company the following year for an un- who are often reluctant to complain for they didn’t care,” disclosed sum. fear of being fired or deported. she says. “I just wanted justice,” she said. “I House of Raeford says it looks out for just wanted someone to take care of my the safety of workers and treats them hand.” with respect. House of Raeford said it can’t discuss “We come to work with five fingers Outerbridge’s case because the settle- and toes,” said company safety director JOHN D. SIMMONS – [email protected] ment is confidential. Bill Lewis. “And we go home with the Human resources director Gene same thing we came in with.” It has climbed from a backyard bird lations since 2000 – among the most of and took a job at the plant in 1998. Shelnutt said the privately held com- The newspaper asked one of the fed- operation to one of the nation’s top 10 any U.S. poultry company. She began visiting the first-aid sta- pany considers its workers family. The eral government’s top record-keeping poultry processors, helping make In communities surrounding House tion almost daily around 2002 to cope company, he said, “would never allow experts to review House of Raeford’s North Carolina the second-largest tur- of Raeford plants, the pain of poultry with the pain, she said. A first-aid atten- anyone to mistreat anyone in the family. safety logs and what injured workers key producer. The company expanded work can be found in aging trailer parks dant, she said, gave her a cream but per- … I believe we have provided the care told the Observer. Bob Whitmore, who turkey consumption beyond holiday and clusters of weathered rental houses formed no tests and refused her request for our employees that has directed the national injury and ill- dinner tables by creating new products, where sheets cover windows for pri- to see a doctor. is expected.” ness record-keeping system for the U.S. including deli-style breast meat and vacy. Knee-high rubber boots spattered She recalled times on the production Current and former Labor Department since 1988, said he turkey “dinosaur” wings. It has grown with chicken fat rest on stoops. line when her hand hurt so badly she human resources em- believes his agency has failed to protect by acquiring competitors and selling In Raeford, about 100 miles east of dropped her scissors and cried. ployees at two House poultry workers. chicken parts overseas. Charlotte, former line worker Clau- “They’d say, ‘Oh, you’re not hurt- of Raeford plants said Whitmore was not authorized to Its rise has come with a human cost. dette Outerbridge lay awake nights being,’ ” Outerbridge said. “They made the company finds rea- comment for the government but said Workers have been maimed by ma- cause of pain pulsating in her right me feel that I was bothering them to go sons to fire injured he felt compelled to speak on behalf of chines and poisoned by toxic chem- hand. The ache, she said, stemmed to the nurse, that I was supposed to take Villegas workers. workers. icals. Two were killed in accidents man- from her work, which included cutting the pain.” Belem Villegas, a After reviewing the Observer’s find- agers might have prevented. Even more thousands of turkey gizzards each day. When she told a plant manager she former employment supervisor at the ings, he said, “This is violating the laws suffer from grueling, repetitive work During her more than five years at needed medical help, “He sat me down Greenville plant, said her boss didn’t of human decency.” that can leave their hands wracked with the plant, Outerbridge held a variety of and he said, ‘I’m sorry, there’s nothing I like “repeat complainers.” Growth comes with cost pain or missing fingers. jobs, including pulling out turkey guts can do about it,’ ” recalled Outerbridge, For five years until spring 2005, Ville- The company, based in Raeford in and trimming parts. She said she now 48. “That day, I got a lawyer.” gas hired workers and translated for House of Raeford isn’t a household Eastern North Carolina, has been cited moved from New York, where she In 2003, she went on her own to a Spanish-speaking employees. She name. for 130 serious workplace safety vio- worked as a police department clerk, doctor, who diagnosed her with severe SEE POULTRY|NEXT PAGE

I just wanted justice. I just wanted someone to take care of my hand.” “ CLAUDETTE OUTERBRIDGE, FORMER HOUSE OF RAEFORD EMPLOYEE 12A SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2008 • • • THE CRUELEST CUTS THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER | www.charlotte.com THE HUMAN COST OF BRINGING POULTRY TO YOUR TABLE

Federal safety data misleading, experts say Federal statistics suggest poultry plants are safer than ever. But experts question those numbers.

In October, the U.S. Labor De- partment reported fewer poultry workers were hurt in 2006 than in any previous year. The government cited an injury and illness rate of 6.6 per 100 workers, compared with 17.8 in 1996. The National Chicken Council praised poultry processors for adopting an “emphasis on safety, new and redesigned equipment and processes, early in- tervention, and other measures....” But Bob Whitmore, a longtime Labor Department record-keeping expert, said the poultry industry’s injury and illness rate is likely two to three times higher because of underreporting. He’s particularly suspicious of OSHA records showing no injuries at some poultry plants. He said the government has done little to crack down on companies that undercount injuries. Rich Fairfax, OSHA’s enforcement director, said inspectors look for underreporting but rarely ﬁnd it.: “When we try to track it down, it goes nowhere.” Here are the 2006 rates of injuries and illnesses per 100 workers:

Motor vehicle parts JOHN D. SIMMONS – [email protected] 7.7 manufacturing Seferino Francisco Guadalupe holds an X-ray showing the screws that surgeons inserted to repair his shattered ankle. The injury happened in an accident at a House of Furniture Raeford plant in 2006. House of Raeford failed to record Guadalupe’s fracture on its injury logs, as required by law. The company said it was an isolated incident. 7.5 manufacturing Company says Concealing dangerous conditions 6.6 Poultry processing During the past decade, regulators have cited more than 50 poultry plants for failing it strives for a to properly record workplace injuries. Some examples: 6.0 All manufacturing 1 Gold’n Plump Poultry, 3 Marshall Durbin, Arcadia, Wis. Hattiesburg, Miss. * All private industry Inspectors in 2004 cited OSHA concluded in 2003 the company had 4.4 safe workplace the company for failing to created an environment where employees record several cases in felt dissuaded from reporting injuries. Most 1 Textile mills ––––––– which employees suffered went to their own doctor or to the emergency 4.4 Poultry from 11A hearing loss. room at their own cost. The company also failed to record some injuries and keep Pharmaceutical and 2 Trinity Valley Foods, records of all visits to the safety coordinator. Selected 2.4 medicine manufacturing shared an office with the plant medical Irving, Tex. Firefighters in citations director and said as many as 20 workers 2005 had to administer 4 House of Raeford Farms, Computer and electronic oxygen to at least two Raeford, N.C. 4 2.0 product manufacturing a day came in saying their hands, wrists employees after a liquid N.C. regulators concluded and arms hurt. nitrogen leak. Those in 1998 that the plant had Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics She said she urged plant managers to injuries weren’t recorded crossed at least 35 names 2 3 send injured employees to a doctor, but on the logs, OSHA found. off injury logs. they often refused. “They’d say, ‘Belem, Safer than a toy store? if they keep coming to the office, they’re *OSHA cited the company for a record-keeping violation but deleted the citation as part of a settlement. The company disagreed with OSHA’s characterizations and said Workplace safety experts going to have to be let go.’ ” there was no practice or pattern of discouraging employees from reporting injuries. also question a reported drop in Workers got the message. “You complain and you become unemployed,” OSHA AND WORKPLACE INJURIES musculoskeletal disorders. In Villegas said. 2006, 20.8 of every 10,000 What should be recorded on only a small percentage of injury logs, fix minor paperwork violations to avoid a House of Raeford didn’t respond to poultry workers missed work OSHA injury and illness logs? which are kept at plants. citation. questions about Villegas’ allegations. because of MSDs, down from The company said it fired her because Companies should record significant How often do regulators cite How does OSHA monitor whether 88.3 in 1996, according to the companies are telling the truth? she was “accepting money to provide work-related injuries and illnesses, companies for underreporting? Labor Department. including those that result in death, days employment favors to potential em- Citations for underreporting have OSHA conducts occasional audits of That 2006 rate would make ployees.” Villegas denied the claim and away from work, restricted work or job dropped sharply since 1990, when state injury logs. But Bob Whitmore, an OSHA transfers, and medical treatment beyond poultry plants safer than toy said she believes she was fired, in part, and federal OSHA agencies cited expert on injury records, said the first aid. employers for record-keeping violations agency’s once-aggressive focus on stores. “It’s intuitively implausi- because she started speaking up for more than 10,000 times. More than 100 enforcing record-keeping regulations workers. Which companies does OSHA ble,” said Dr. Michael Silver- of those citations were for poultry “fell off the radar screen in 1990 and stein, a former OSHA policy The Observer interviewed more target for inspection? processors. never returned.” chief. “Something is clearly than 50 workers no longer employed at OSHA targets companies reporting In 2006, the total number of citations One example: An Observer review of nine House of Raeford. Ten said they were higher-than-average injury rates. was less than 4,000 and fewer than 10 years of OSHA audits showed most wrong.” fired after reporting injuries. However, the agency rarely checks were for poultry processors. OSHA says lasted one day. Whitmore said they Here are the rates of MSDs Company officials said workers are whether companies are reporting the drop is partly due to a policy change should take a week or more to catch resulting in lost time, per 10,000 required to tell supervisors if they are honestly - and checks the accuracy of in the 1990s that allowed companies to “significant and fraudulent problems.” workers: hurt and that they will be sent to plant first-aid stations, or outside doctors if SOURCES: OSHA, Observer research WM PITZER - [email protected] need be. They also noted that plants are 47.4 Hobby, toy and game stores represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers union and that its mer employees do not fairly or accu- The pain grew so intense, she said, manager Mike Flow- Average for all industries representatives have “full grievance rately represent the policies or manage- she visited a doctor and received pain- ers said that because 38.6 procedures at their disposal.” Local ment practices of House of Raeford killers. She was diagnosed with carpal Hernandez stayed union officials said membership is less Farms,” the company wrote. tunnel syndrome in 2005, according to home on his own and 27.5 New car dealers than 30 percent at some plants because Injuries not reported the law firm that represented her in a did not call his super- immigrants are often reluctant to join, workers’ compensation case. visor, managers didn’t 25.9 Pharmacies making it difficult to enact change. If House of Raeford’s records are ac- Lucas Hernandez cut his arm with a know the extent of his “Certainly, we work hard to run a safe curate, the company in recent years has knife in summer 2005 while on the pro- injury. “There’s a lot of and healthy workplace, and to comply operated some of the nation’s safest duction line at the West Columbia Flowers gray area,” Flowers 20.8 Poultry processing with all state and federal laws,” Barry chicken and turkey plants. plant. He missed work the next two said. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Cronic, complex manager of the Green- Businesses are required to record days because of pain, he said. Nonsense, said Whitmore. ville plant, said in a written response. most serious injuries and illnesses on None of those injuries showed up on “The supervisor knew there was an — AMES ALEXANDER AND KERRY HALL “…If any supervisor is discouraging em- U.S. Occupational Safety and Health House of Raeford injury logs. injury. The person missed work and it ployees from reporting injuries, that su- Administration logs. But it’s an honor In addition to the 31 injuries the Ob- was because of pain related to an in- pervisor is in violation of company pol- system, and companies must give logs server confirmed, 10 more workers de- jury,” he said. “It was clearly recordable. icy.” to regulators and employees only if scribed serious injuries that weren’t re- Period.” At the West Columbia plant, which Carolina Cruz said her pleas for help asked. Regulators use the logs to spot corded, but the newspaper could not Record-keeping questioned employs 800, not a single musculoskel- were repeatedly ignored. A young troubling workplace safety trends. confirm their medical treatment. etal disorder was recorded from July mother, Cruz took a job at the Green- The newspaper obtained four years Whitmore, the OSHA record-keep- Poultry plants are filled with hazards. 2003 to April 2007, according to the ville plant in 2003 cutting chicken of logs for company plants in Green- ing expert, examined House of Raeford On one side of the factory, employees most current records obtained by the wings. After her hands started to throb, ville, West Columbia and Raeford. logs and details of the 41 injuries the grab live birds before hanging them up- Observer. she said, she went to a company nurse In a sampling of workers in neigh- Observer found. He concluded the side down on moving hooks that whisk Twelve employees who worked at who several times gave her ointment borhoods surrounding the plants, the company violated workplace safety law them off for slaughter. On the other the plant during that time said in in- and sent her back to the line. “They Observer confirmed 31 injuries serious by failing to record more than half of side – after the birds are scalded, terviews they suffered don’t help us at all,” she said. enough to be recorded for regulators. In those injuries. plucked and chilled – they’re hurried pains commonly By the summer of 2006, she said, “My 12 of those cases, the injuries didn’t “These are severe, serious, debilitat- along production lines where workers brought on by MSDs. bones hurt …. If I continue like this, my show up on logs. ing cases,” Whitmore said. stand shoulder-to-shoulder wielding Two said they had sur- hands are going to get to the point Seferino Guadalupe was driving a Company officials said they follow blades for hours with few breaks. gery for carpal tunnel where I won’t be able to do anything.” machine moving pallets of turkey OSHA rules for recording injuries, and Temperatures hover near freezing to at company expense. Cruz later left the plant. breasts at one of the company’s two are unaware of any work-related in- prevent the spread of bacteria. Water Most of the others said House of Raeford declined to com- Raeford plants in November 2006 juries being excluded from the logs. drips off machinery, falling onto floors they complained to ment on many of the workers’ specific when, he said, the brakes failed and he Lewis, the company’s safety director, slick with chicken fat. The din of clank- Mabe company officials allegations, saying that, without signed crashed into a wall. Surgeons inserted said he couldn’t explain why Guada- ing conveyor belts makes conversation about their injuries but releases, it was unable to discuss details screws to repair his shattered ankle. lupe’s accident wasn’t included and nearly impossible. weren’t sent to doctors or given time off of their health or employment. In gen- Bernestine Wright said her hands called it “an isolated case.” He said the The conditions are ripe for musculo- from work – steps that likely would eral, the company said it found “many went numb after months of cutting company has corrected its logs. skeletal disorders, which afflict the have made their injuries recordable. inaccuracies” in the information work- chickens into bite-sized pieces at the Company officials said Wright’s alle- muscles and nerves in wrists, arms, James Mabe, the complex manager, ers provided to the Observer but de- Greenville plant. She said a company gations are inaccurate but wouldn’t necks and backs. MSDs also include re- said he was unsure why his logs showed clined to elaborate. nurse refused to send her to a doctor elaborate. petitive motion injuries, such as carpal no musculoskeletal disorders. “The allegations made by these for- when she complained about pains. At the West Columbia plant, safety tunnel syndrome and tendinitis. SEE POULTRY|13A

…If any supervisor is discouraging employees from reporting injuries, BARRY CRONIC, COMPLEX MANAGER OF THE GREENVILLE, S.C., PLANT that“ supervisor is in violation of company policy.” MORE COMPANY RESPONSE ON CHARLOTTE.COM/POULTRY THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER | www.charlotte.com THE CRUELEST CUTS •SUNDAY,FEBRUARY10,200813A THE HUMAN COST OF BRINGING POULTRY TO YOUR TABLE

The perils of processing He says his agency is at fault About 100 U.S. poultry workers have died on the job during the past decade, and more than 300,000 have been injured. The industry’s death and injury rates Record-keeping chief says OSHA lets companies underreport injuries are higher than those for manufacturing as a whole. For many workers – including those who suffer By Kerry Hall And Ames Alexander Bob Whitmore, amputations, chemical burns and debilitating hand Staff Writers an OSHA or wrist ailments – on-the-job injuries have left a Bob Whitmore is doing what few career record-keeping lasting mark. Poultry plants are typically divided government employees dare – publicly crit- expert, spent a into two functions. At one end, birds are slaughtered, icizing his own agency. weekend scalded and plucked. At the other end, tightly Whitmore, an expert in record-keeping re- examining House quirements for the U.S. Occupational Safety clustered workers cut and package meat. of Raeford safety and Health Administration, said OSHA is al- lowing employers to vastly underreport the records, national number of injuries and illnesses their workers data and suffer. information that The true rate for some industries – in- workers shared cluding poultry processors – is likely two to with the Observer. three times higher than government numbers “This is abuse,” he suggest, he said. said. “I don’t know Whitmore is not authorized to speak for the what else to government and is risking his job simply by call it.” talking to the Observer, he said. PHOTOS BY JOHN D. SIMMONS – [email protected] “I want to hold people accountable that are COLBY WARE – SPECIAL TO THE OBSERVER abusing workers,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.” frivolous paperwork violations. Today, he said, In July, Whitmore was placed on paid ad- 1. Receiving and killing OSHA officials say they look for underre- the agency is conducting fewer inspections ministrative leave after a confrontation with a Forklift drivers unload cages of live chickens or porting but rarely find it. and issuing fewer fines, leaving businesses to supervisor. He said the supervisor spit on him, turkeys. Workers hang the birds upside down on an Whitmore has directed OSHA’s record- police themselves. so he stuck his foot in the man’s door and overhead conveyor. Machines kill, scald and keeping system since 1988. Early in his ca- The government, he said, has no clear pic- threatened, “If you ever do that again, I’ll kick de-feather the birds. reer, he said, OSHA looked closely at compa- ture of the hazards that lurk inside some of your a--.” HAZARDS: Forklift accidents account for many nies’ injury and illness logs and issued big America’s most dangerous manufacturers. Whitmore has filed a complaint alleging a serious injuries. Many employees develop hand, arm, fines to businesses that underreported such A leading manufacturers group contends hostile workplace. As of this month, he was shoulder or back injuries from lifting thousands of live incidents. the government figures are accurate. While still on administrative leave. birds each day. Frequent contact with chicken feces But by the 1990s, he said, industry groups underreporting occasionally happens, it’s rare, The labor department declined to comment and dust leaves some workers suffering from and pro-business lawmakers were accusing said Hank Cox, a spokesman for the National on Whitmore’s status citing “privacy consid- respiratory problems. OSHA of focusing on what they perceived as Association of Manufacturers. erations.”

Company has history of fights with regulators ––––––– Poultry from 12A work stations and other safety measures con- tribute to low injury and illness rates, they said. Mabe also said the plant recently spent $3.5 million for equipment that included a machine to remove guts from chickens, eliminat- ing a highly repetitive job. He offered another explanation: “Hispan- ics are very good with their hands and working with a knife. We’ve gotten less com- plaints.” 2. Evisceration Asked to elaborate, Mabe said, “It’s more Workers or machines remove internal organs, which like a natural movement for them.” are placed in bins and graded by inspectors. Some Tom Armstrong, a University of Michigan organs, such as gizzards and livers, may be cleaned professor who has studied the prevalence of JOHN D. SIMMONS – [email protected] and packaged. The carcass is cleaned and MSDs in poultry processing, questioned how Guillermo Santiago of Vera Cruz, Mexico, had the tips of three fingers sliced off while washing vacuumed. The bird is packaged whole after Mabe arrived at his conclusion about Hispan- a grinding machine at a House of Raeford plant in Raeford. evisceration or placed on cones for cutting and ics. “I know of absolutely no data to support de-boning. that,” he said. HAZARDS: Employees may develop repetitive Armstrong said it’s highly unlikely a large Because House of Raeford reports some of Avisit to the largely Latino communities the industry’s lowest injury and illness rates, motion problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome or poultry plant could go consecutive years surrounding the Raeford plants reveals the tendinitis. without a case of carpal tunnel or tendinitis. workplace safety officials rarely conduct ran- hidden cost of poultry work. “I’d be skeptical of the record-keeping in a dom inspections at its plants. Ayear after the accident that shattered his situation like that,” he said. Several times when inspectors did show up ankle, Guadalupe struggles to walk with at one of the Raeford plants, managers refused crutches and said he is unable to work be- Company fights in court to let them in. cause of lingering pain. House of Raeford has a history of un- Acting on a tip that workers were suffering Four houses down, Ernesto Ramirez, a House derreporting injuries. injuries, regulators in 1999 began investigating. of Raeford sanitation worker, said he had blurred In 1997, union leaders at a plant in Raeford They spoke with 40 workers, many of whom vision for three days in 2006 after chlorine received calls from workers complaining complained of throbbing pain in their hands, splashed into his eyes from a loose hose at work. about injuries. Yet the plant was reporting arms and shoulders. More than a third had Down the road, Guillermo Santiago had one of the industry’s lowest injury and illness been diagnosed with repetitive motion prob- the top half of three fingers sheared off last rates – 3.5 per 100 workers – well below the in- lems. February when he tried to jimmy loose a hose dustry average of 16.6. One of the inspectors, J. D. Lewis, recalls from a grinding machine. Doctors were able The union looked closer and found the seeing young workers who could no longer to reattach just one finger. plant had crossed 159 names off its 1996 and use their arms or hands properly. One couldn’t Anative of Vera Cruz, Mexico, Santiago De-boning 1997 injury logs. lift his arms above his head, he recalled. said he’s reminded of his accident each time 3. State regulators investigated and found that Inspectors wanted to talk with more work- he looks at his hands. Workers use their knives and hands to separate the 35 of those names had been crossed off with ers, but House of Raeford officials repeatedly “I’m never going to be the same.” meat from the skin and bones. Some employees make more than 20,000 cuts each day. “plain indifference to the law.” They could not blocked them – even when they arrived with a — STAFF DATABASE EDITOR TED MELLNIK AND STAFF confirm others because some of the workers warrant. Company officials said the interviews RESEARCHERS MARIA WYGAND, SARA KLEMMER AND MARION had left the plant and could not be found. would disrupt operations. PAYNTER CONTRIBUTED. Regulators designated the violation as The case went to N.C. Superior Court, 4. Cutting “willful” – the toughest category under where Judge Jack Hooks ruled in late 2000 that Workers use scissors, knives and saws to cut wing OSHA rules – and recommended a $9,000 the state had no authority to investigate fur- tips, wings and legs from birds. fine. House of Raeford fought back. The state ther. His reason: Compliance deadlines for a new federal ergonomics standard had not yet Spanish version HAZARDS: Cuts, nerve damage and threw out the willful designation and reduced repetitive-motion injuries such as tendinitis and kicked in. To read some of the Observer’s poultry stories the fine to $800. House of Raeford says it has carpal tunnel syndrome are common. Cuts not in Spanish, pick up Wednesday’s edition of since established procedures “to prevent any Still suffering treated promptly often become infected from the La Noticia. further occurrences of the same nature.” bacteria on raw chicken.

HOW THE OBSERVER DID THIS INVESTIGATION THE SERIES • Today: Poultry giant has masked the EXTENT Observer reporters interviewed more than records from 2003 to early 2007. The OF INJURIES in its plants. SPECIALTY CUTS put 200 poultry workers across the Southeast, Observer counted cases as unreported only if poultry workers’ hands at greater risk. along with regulators, workplace safety it was able to confirm that the workers experts, lawyers and company officials. They received medical attention beyond first aid or • Monday: MARVIN JOHNSON, House of reviewed thousands of pages of OSHA had time off work. The newspaper also asked Raeford chairman, has taken on documents, academic studies, workers’ atop OSHA record-keeping expert to assess regulators. compensation cases and rarely-examined whether the cases should have been • Tuesday: ONE BOSS’ STORY: Pressure to company injury logs. They analyzed recorded. produce came at expense of Latino workers. government databases with information about all workplace safety enforcement nationwide, • Wednesday: COMPANY MEDICAL WORKERS as well as injury rates reported by plants. How to reach the reporters: sometimes make it hard for employees to get proper care. They also toured three poultry plants in the Ames Alexander – 704-358-5060; 5. Packaging Carolinas and Virginia and obtained records of [email protected] • Thursday: Greenville, S.C., plant’s SAFETY ambulance calls to some plants. Employees package meat and box it for shipping. Kerry Hall – 704-358-5085; STREAK is a myth, current and former Companies are required to keep records of HAZARDS: Repeated reaching and lifting may leave [email protected] workers say. work-related injuries and illnesses that result in workers with injuries to their backs, shoulders, arms LAX ENFORCEMENT medical treatment beyond first aid, days away Franco Ordoñez – 704-358-6180; • Friday: of workplace and hands. — AMES ALEXANDER [email protected] standards allows dangerous conditions in from work, loss of consciousness and death. SOURCE: Occupational Safety and Health Administration To analyze underreporting, the newspaper (Ordoñez speaks Spanish.) poultry plants to persist. interviewed injured House of Raeford workers Peter St. Onge – 704-358-5029; READ OUR STORIES ONLINE STAFF GRAPHIC BY HOLLY FARRANT AND JASON WHITLEY and compared their accounts to company injury [email protected] AT WWW.CHARLOTTE.COM/poultry

I want to hold people accountable that are abusing workers.” “ BOB WHITMORE, DIRECTED THE NATIONAL INJURY AND ILLNESS RECORD-KEEPING SYSTEM FOR THE U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT SINCE 1988