Catherwood LibraryILR School

Poultry workers at large chicken processing plants in the U.S. face working conditions that allow little or no time for bathroom visits outside official breaks, often requiring permission from absent supervisors who hold discretion over such requests. Bathroom facilities can be located far from processing lines, resulting in shorter official breaks. Workers at the third-largest company, Sanderson Farms in Texas, as well as representatives from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), which represents poultry workers in Texas and Louisiana, confirm that employees sometimes go to the bathroom on themselves rather than leave the processing line, and that working conditions/break availabilities improve whenever OSHA is conducting an inspection. The industry’s high turnover rate results in poor staffing that can prevent adequate coverage for breaks. Poultry workers often belong to demographic groups that may fear employer retaliation due to their vulnerable socio-economic status.