Citing a history of safety violations that goes back a decade, workers at Kayem Foods rallied to condemn the plant for the horrific injuries many of them have sustained on the job. Employing a workforce comprised mainly of immigrants, both legal and illegal, Kayem foods has been found in violation of such OSHA safety standards as not installing guards on cutting blades---violations which many workers believe have led to lost fingers and maimed hands, as well as to chemical burns. The AFL-CIO, which last year reversed its anti-illegal immigrant policy, has been assisting Kayem workers who have been trying to organize a union for the past three years despite company opposition.
See "Workers protest at meat plant", CINDY RODRIGUEZ, The Boston Globe, September 20, 2001