this post was submitted on 07 May 2024
619 points (99.5% liked)

News

23267 readers
2984 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Fayette Janitorial Service LLC agreed to pay nearly $650,000 in civil penalties and the court-ordered mandate that it no longer employs minors.

A Tennessee-based sanitation company has agreed to pay more than half a million dollars after a federal investigation found it illegally hired at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat processing facilities in Iowa and Virginia.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday that Fayette Janitorial Service LLC entered into a consent judgment, in which the company agrees to nearly $650,000 in civil penalties and the court-ordered mandate that it no longer employs minors. The February filing indicated federal investigators believed at least four children had still been working at one Iowa slaughterhouse as of Dec. 12.

U.S. law prohibits companies from employing people younger than 18 to work in meat processing plants because of the hazards.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world 133 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Half a million doesn't seem like enough tbh

[–] dojan@lemmy.world 80 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Honestly when it comes to severe crimes the punishments should put them out of business. Yeah some people will lose their jobs, but suddenly there's a vacuum that can be filled, and it's not like the expertise is gone. Someone else can start a better company that doesn't do illegal shit and fill that vacuum.

Isn't that how capitalism is supposed to work anyway?

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 13 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I keep hearing this about how companies failing being how capitalism is supposed to work. Capitalism doesn't give a shit about bad companies failing or competition. Capitalism is concerned with the ownership of the means of production. Lack of regulation and competition works tremendously for the owners of capital and those owners will use their capital to foster such profitable environments. This is how capitalism works.

[–] Stovetop@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago (2 children)

This isn't a skilled industry, hence why they have children working there. The equipment/facilities is the real value. Unless the government wants to take control or find new management, the jobs are dependent on whoever owns the machines.

Or, just maybe, we close the meat packing plant anyways because everyone should eat less meat.

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 22 points 6 months ago

It's not even the slaughterhouse. The meat packing plant contracted out to "Ricky's bone saw cleaning LLC" who is paying the fine for child labor. They might have a few jugs of detergents and sanitizers plus some work vans.

[–] NFord@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

No no no! It's the responsibility of the corporations to act ethically! Consumers bear no fault in how corporations decide do business!!

Yikes, sorry about that. I had the urge to sound ridiculous for a second. I agree. Money talks and we should all be mindful of what we say.

[–] tacosplease@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

Yeah was just wondering how it compares to the money they saved using child labor.

[–] ohlaph@lemmy.world 89 points 6 months ago (3 children)

A fine is merely the cost of doing business.

If we want change, there needs to be jail time.

[–] Tryptaminev@lemm.ee 14 points 6 months ago

I'd say one day for each hour of child labour for everyone who was involved in facilitating it, or had oversight responsibilities.

[–] Astongt615@lemmy.one 10 points 6 months ago (3 children)

And yet in the same breath we often point out that prison time doesn't rehabilitate (think petty crime). I think realistic fines to individuals AND companies that are more than "cost of doing business," as well as blacklisting the (undoubtedly several) individals responsible from being able to hold that level of power in an industry, not just the company, then there may be a reasonable deterrent, and it won't be a languishing burden on tax payers to put these guys up in dressed up 4 star hotels.

[–] barsquid@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

People deliberately putting children's lives at risk should be jailed the same whether or not they are doing it from hiding behind a limited liability. And also the prisons should be changed so that they are actually about rehabilitation.

[–] Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 months ago

The For-profit prison system is fucked, but that doesn't mean jails in general are bad.

[–] john89@lemmy.ca 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Bad idea. Just increase the fines so they outweigh any potential savings the business may have received.

Hit them where it hurts, in their wallets.

[–] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 60 points 6 months ago (2 children)

And the executives are in jail? Right?

[–] barsquid@lemmy.world 15 points 6 months ago

Oh, I can see how you might think that from having basic common sense. But actually, laws are only for poors.

[–] Coreidan@lemmy.world 13 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Only if they didn’t give a cut to the regulators. This isn’t a fine. It’s payment so the regulators look the other way.

It’s cheaper for them to break the law and pay a “fine” then to go about things legitimately.

It’s the cost of doing business.

[–] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 6 months ago

Capitalism at it's finest.

[–] frunch@lemmy.world 50 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

That's not all, folks! 🐷 This shit runs deep, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. I just can't wrap my head around children being brought into these places, trained, and then let loose--and no adult along that chain thinks to themselves that maybe there's a problem with that?!?!?!

From the article: 

  • One 14-year-old was severely injured while cleaning the drumstick packing line belt at the plant in Virginia, the investigation alleged.

  • The agreement stipulates that Fayette will hire a third-party consultant to monitor the company’s compliance with child labor laws for at least three years, as well as to facilitate trainings. The company must also establish a hotline for individuals to report concerns about child labor abuses.

  • The Labor Department’s latest statistics indicate the number of children being employed illegally in the U.S. has increased 88% since 2019.

This is all very performative, slap-on-the-wrist level punishment, and i imagine there are hundreds more children out there still working in shit conditions because nobody will say or do anything about it until more injuries/deaths force them to.

[–] mynachmadarch@kbin.social 8 points 6 months ago

I wonder, also, how much that increase in children being employed illegally is them needing to in order to make ends meet at home due to corporate greedflation running rampant?

Like, yes, the companies shouldn't hire the kids. But also, we should address why those kids are willing to work those jobs in the first place.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 34 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It doesn't specifically say who these children were, but they were likely migrants because the child labor issue is actually an immigration issue.

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173697113/immigrant-child-labor-crisis

[–] bhmnscmm@lemmy.world 12 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It's always immigrant kids. Nobody should be surprised that the companies that are willing to illegally employ immigrants are also willing to violate other labor laws.

Allow these people (the adults, not kids) to become legally employed and this problem will be drastically reduced.

[–] psycho_driver@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I work for a top 50 by population city here in the US and they're hiring illegals left and right. They do it by bringing them in through a temp agency and then transferring them over to our books after six months.

[–] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

There is no such thing as an illegal person. A business may have illegal hiring practices, though.

[–] YerbaYerba@lemm.ee 33 points 6 months ago (2 children)
[–] woodenskewer@lemmy.world 29 points 6 months ago (1 children)

No fine for Perdue or Seaboard Triumph Foods though even though the kids were even allowed in the plants. How could we possibly hold them liable for vetting outside contractors.

[–] cybersandwich@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago

That's the way it works. It's a risk management and mitigation strategy for companies. You hiring contractors and offload the liability.

From what I understand, and IANAL(with the best of em) we'd have to change the laws to go after companies for their contractor's liability/negligence.

I think you'd be able to go after Perdue or seaboard if you could prove they were grossly negligence or derelict or knowingly hired this contractorbecause they used kids.

But they can play that legal "plausible deniability" card otherwise.

[–] antidote101@lemmy.world 17 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Once Trump gets in, and the "Freedom to be Poor" bill is passed than these damn woke liberals won't be able to limit these children's rights like this!

We'll pass Poe's Law too.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

We'll pass Poe's Law too.

They're gonna outlaw sarcasm?

[–] Larry@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Sarcasm is already illegal, idiot

[–] ettyblatant@lemmy.world 5 points 6 months ago

thank you SO MUCH for educating me! I didn't know ANY of that until you so graciously taught me!

[–] C126@sh.itjust.works 17 points 6 months ago

Child labor laws are ruining this country! I started at the metal refinery when I was 9, and worked my way up to shift foreman by 12.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 16 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

And they think an untrained minor will ever effectively clean food production compared to trained adult. Doesn't matter that they are endangering a minor and giving people food poisoning, as long as it's cheaper.

[–] SkybreakerEngineer@lemmy.world 12 points 6 months ago

Effective? All that matters is profit, get out of here with that commie crap

[–] Siegfried@lemmy.world 14 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The money will be given to the children, right?

[–] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 6 points 6 months ago

Sure will, money will go to Israel, they buy bombs, bombs find children therefore money being given to children!

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 14 points 6 months ago

Cost of doing business. Not going to slow anyone down.

[–] Stonewyvvern@lemmy.world 14 points 6 months ago

"The children yearn for the mines" -some goofball

[–] nutsack@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

i don't know how they can call these places "meat processing plants". they are slaughter houses. for slaughtering

[–] Verito@lemm.ee 10 points 6 months ago

Because people are detached from ethics and humanity as an intended function of capitalism. If people regarded animal welfare every time they needed to eat by being exposed to the slaughter, line might go down. Media is sanitized whatever degree maximizes potential consumer bases, and ultimately profits.

[–] AIhasUse@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago

Interesting. I always pictured people in the meat packing business as having such high moral standards.

[–] Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net 6 points 6 months ago

How do I mail a brick?

[–] egeres@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

What the fuck

[–] Facebones@reddthat.com 1 points 6 months ago

"Company is still $3.5m in the black on the project after government fines"

load more comments
view more: next ›