1.+Chapter+8

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=The Most Dangerous Job=


 * Summary:** This chapter starts as Eric Schlosser visits one of the largest slaughterhouses somewhere in the High Plains. As he travels through the slaughterhouse the sections become more gruesome and dangerous, ending in the kill floor. The cows enter the kill floor in a single file line and then get shot in the head by the "knocker" with a steel bolt, knocking them unconscious. A worker called the "sticker" slits the neck and then the entire cow is cut in half and another man pulls each organ out with his bare hands. Working in a slaughterhouse is the most dangerous job in America as the injury rate is three times higher than that of any other factory job; one in three employees will require serious medical attention each year. Because cattle cannot be genetically altered to be the same size, there is no way a machine could complete this job, so the meat packing industry has evolved very little in the past hundred years. Workers fear more than just getting cut by the 10,000 swings of a knife per person every shift, this type of work is very hard on their bodies and as a knife becomes dull there is more pressure on each muscle and joint. Injured workers lose companies money and therefore most workers do not report their injuries for fear of being fired. Because of the danger of getting sleepy, employers have begun to sell methamphetamine to their employees to keep them awake, regardless of the dangers of working while high. There is also a lack of union help to those who work in a slaughterhouse, mostly because they are recent illegal immigrants and cannot fight for their right to a safe work environment for fear of losing their job. Women have always been taken advantage of in the factory industry, but there are also women who are willing to meet demands of supervisors for the promise of a job or even a green card. The worst job in the slaughterhouses is that of the late-night cleaning crews, who are paid a third of what the workers are paid and spend their nights cleaning all the blood and body matter off every small groove of the factory. I will spare you the gruesome details of the accidents that have occurred during this time, but will mention the word beheaded and the fact that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) once fined a company for $480 per human life lost. The OSHA only required volunteer inspections and would not enter "dangerous" factories during the 1980's, which convinced companies to lie about injuries and safety issues. This issues surrounding the working conditions in the meat packaging field have been largely ignored or never could change conditions enough. Employees were never informed of their rights or workers' comp and it can take years for an injured employee to receive benefits. In general the people who run the meat packing industry are not good or honest and do not care about harming the lives of people just trying to get by.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/irrad/slaughterworkers.cfm http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/slaughter/slaughterhouse.html
 * Supporting viewpoint:** Conditions in slaughterhouses are disgusting and are mostly worked by illegal immigrants who cannot speak English and have no secondary education. As the workers are pushed to work faster there is more danger that the bacteria from the cow is continuing into the beef and therefore directly coming in contact with the workers and consumers.


 * Opposing viewpoint:** The opposing viewpoint claims that jobs in the meatpacking industry create thousands of jobs and especially for those people without skills or education. It is tough work, but necessary if people are going to continue to eat beef. Regulations are being put in place in many different states and the working conditions are slowly being improved.