Minnesota Company Breaks Child Labor Laws; Exploits Children as Young as Thirteen

Something’s rotten at a few slaughterhouses between Minnesota and Nebraska. The US Government alleges that a cleaning subcontractor, Packers Sanitation Services (PSSI), utilized dangerous and exploitive child labor across three meat processing facilities. This isn’t sweeping the floor after school; this is a nightmare one would expect from sometime in the late 1800s, not in 2022, and definitely not in America.

Obviously, something’s not Kosher here.

If this was a subcontractor, why didn’t anyone from the main company notice all these kids working tough and dangerous jobs? Upwards of 31 kids worked all night, went to school during the day, and utilized fake names. Before you get on me for reporting this, I get it. I grew up in hard times and worked at jobs that maybe I shouldn’t have for my age. Not these kids; it’s different. Let’s talk chemical burns.

For all the roofing, plumbing, landscaping, and odd jobs I did as a teen, I never once received a caustic burn requiring hospitalization! Let’s ask the thirteen-year-old how he felt when he got his.

Negligence, Burns, Heavy Machinery, and Hell to Pay!

It is reported that many of these kids suffered severe chemical burns. Some children were in charge of cleaning heavy-bladed machinery on what’s called “the kill floor.” These kids are driving forklifts, running power equipment, operating sprayers, doing repairs, and basically making all of Generation Z look like dog crap compared to them. All jokes aside, this is highly illegal, and kids are getting hurt. These accidents can easily become deaths in an industrial environment. This is no place for kids, and I hope all accountable parties are sufficiently punished and these children are given the varying aid they most likely require.

I say the above because, obviously, these kids have parents (maybe). Are these kids from abusive households, impoverished neighborhoods, and homeless camps? Wherever they are from, the least the Government could do is a full investigation of how they ended up working all-nighters with no one seeming to care. Some may come from families that LEGITIMATELY need assistance.

You can read CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. 4:22-cv-3246 here.