The Most Dangerous Job
Eric Schlosser
Introduction
Schlosser offers us a peak behind the walls of a slaughterhouse to view the conditions of the workers in these facilities. Inside, we find the disturbing reality of the exploitation of vulnerable workers. "Inside those walls is a different world that obeys different laws."
Key Points
- The injury rate in a slaughterhouse is about three times higher than the rate in a typical American factory.
- Every year about one out of three meatpacking workers in this country--roughly fourty-three thousand men and women--suffer an injury or a work-related illness that requires medical attention beyond first aid.
- There is strong evidence that these numbers, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, understate the number of meatpacking injuries that occur. Thousands of additional injuries and illnesses most likely go unrecorded.
- Many women report being fondled and grabbed on the production line.
- In February of 1999, a federal jury in Des Moines, Iowa awarded $2.4 million to a female employee at an IBP slaughterhouse.
- The sexual relationships between supervisors and "hourlies" are for the most part "consensual." Many female workers optimistically regard sex with their supervisor as a way to gain a secure place in American society, a green card, a husband--or at the very least a transfer to an easier job at the plant.
Discussion Questions
- Are the harsh conditions of meatpacking work necessary outcomes of a low-skill job or do they represent an exploitation of vulnerable labor? Explain your answer from either a structure-functional or conflict perspective.
