July 26, 2022

Major US poultry producers sued for allegedly keeping wages low

The US Justice Department has charged major US poultry producers such as Cargill and Sanderson Farms for allegedly colluding to keeping wages low for workers employed at their slaughterhouses, Bloomberg reported.

A complaint submitted on Monday to the US District Court in Maryland state, alleges that the poultry producers engaged in a conspiracy for at least 20 years to share information about present and future compensation plans as well as collaborate with and aid rivals in decisions regarding worker compensation, including wages and benefits.

According to the filing, the processors also used dishonest business practises in a so-called tournament system, which penalises growers who perform poorly.

The civil lawsuit was filed after Cargill and Continental Grain Co announced that they had completed their US$4.5 billion acquisition and merger of Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms, creating the third- and sixth-largest US chicken producers.

-      Bloomberg