A plan in Congress will make faster line speeds permanent at meat processing plants. Unions say that would result in fewer seconds to work safely, meaning greater risk of cuts, slips and other serious injuries
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Worker safety at U.S. meatpacking plants is at the forefront again, with a Congressional plan to permanently increase line speeds for processing pork and poultry. Supporters say companies need certainty, but South Dakota labor voices worry about injuries.
Pork producers strongly support faster processing line speeds, as advocated by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), because they believe increased speeds improve financial stability by increasing plant capacity and reducing financial losses for producers. Industry groups like the NPPC, the Meat Institute, and the South Dakota Pork Producers Council back legislative efforts to make faster line speeds permanent to allow plants to operate at full capacity, while worker unions and critics express concerns that increased speeds endanger workers and compromise food safety
Adjustments to line speed rules are often the result of USDA actions, depending on who’s in the White House. Both Trump administrations have prioritized faster speeds for processing equipment. The GOP-led bill in Congress would a create permanent framework to ensure plants can maintain “full operational capacity.”
B.J. Motley, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 304A, which represents workers at South Dakota’s Smithfield Foods plant, said he is skeptical, saying conditions are already taxing.
“So, the worker is basically on the line eight hours, you know, with a little break here, a little break there, but it’s continuously run now. And I think that’s putting a lot more pressure on employees in their workstations,” he explained.
He said the timing is also bad with increased immigration enforcement affecting staffing, and added that puts remaining workers at risk of injury, including from repetitive motion to keep up with faster production standards.
The bill’s sponsor says processors would have to meet certain criteria before speeding things up, and that the plan would bring U.S. meat and poultry firms closer to global competitiveness.
Bill sponsors and industry groups say these companies and farmers would no longer be at the mercy of inconsistent rules. But Motley is part of the opposition questioning the motives behind these plans.
“It’s all about greed, because you’re not losing any production, anywhere,” he stressed.
In 2021, a federal court struck down the USDA’s rule eliminating line speed limits – a plan pursued by the first Trump administration. The agency later allowed faster speeds at a limited number of plants while it studied the effects. Worker advocates questioned the validity of those study results, which found no direct link between increased speeds and injury risks. Backers of the proposed bill say it’s time to codify changes into law and move away from administrative rulemaking.