Tyson Foods
Even though there have been a number of legal cases which have associated Tyson Foods with illegal immigrants workers, the issue is not clearly understood as the company has in several cases denied any involvement with undocumented workers. However, research evidence shows that the company hires thousands of undocumented workers majority of whom are Hispanics. Therefore, it is important to look at the history of the company involvement with illegal workers in order to understand the present situation of undocumented workers in the company. The main research question for the study will be What is the history of the company and use of labor
Tyson Foods has been the leading meat-processing company in the United States for a number of years now. It is a multinational company that is based in Arkansas, and a giant in the food industry. It is considered the second largest company in processing of chicken, beef, and pork, coming second after JBS S.A of Brazil in the world. In 2005, it was ranked the second largest food production company in Fortune 500, with total revenue of US 26 billion (Tanger 2009, p.6). However, the company has attracted a number of controversies, especially as far as human resource management is concerned. The most controversial issue in the human resource management in Tyson Foods is concern about its involvement with undocumented workers. The company employs thousands of illegal immigrant workers who work in its Arkansas factory and evidence shows that it has been hiring undocumented workers since 1994.
There is enough evidence that proves how Tyson Foods has been involved in hiring and smuggling illegal immigrants. This has been evidenced in a number of suits that have been brought against the company in reference to hiring of undocumented workers. In 2001, the company was sued for conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrant workers for its production lines. The company has used immigration officials to arrange for smuggling of undocumented workers and this became evident as two of the six managers who had been charged accepted plea bargain deals, although the company was later acquitted of the charge (Poovey 2001, p. 7). In 2006, the company was forced to close nine plants, citing lack of workers at the height of immigration demonstrations.
The company has been accused of underpaying its workers. In 2006, federal court granted class-action status in reference to a suit which had been brought by Tyson employees who argued that the company practices of hiring illegal immigrants depress their wages by 10-30 (Tanger 2009, p.5). The company has been accused of paying its workers less than US7.00 per hour, although the company claims it pays US8.63 in additional to full benefits (Tanger 2009, p. 7).
The company has also been accused of not maintaining standard working environment for the employees. It has been revealed that in its Holcomb plant, the company butchers more than 5,700 head of cattle and in the process, at least one meatpacker usually gets hurt doing the job (Hegeman 2010). More than 3,100 workers in this plant concede to have accepted to work in nations most hazardous work environment. In 1998, the company was accused of amassing 46 serious safety violations, while in 1999, seven employees died in the workplace.
Tyson Foods has also not been keen on getting its workers unionized. Unionization is a major challenge for the company since it will give a platform to articulate for their issues. Although the company employs about 114,000 workers in all of its 300 plants worldwide, only 30,000 workers working in 33 plants have been unionized (Hegeman 2010). One reason why the company employs undocumented workers is perhaps to hinder their unionization process since most of them would not want to be exposed to the authority.
Tyson Foods is the largest meat processing company in the United States. It is considered the second largest meat process company in the world. Since it was established, the company has faced different controversies ranging from animal ethics to human resource management issues. The most serious issues denting to the image of the company are its involvement with undocumented workers. It is estimated that the company has been employing thousands of undocumented workers in its factory since 1994. The company has also been accused of violating a number of human resource issues. It has been accused of conspiring with immigration officials to smuggle undocumented workers to work in its factories. In the factory, workers are exposed to all kinds of risk and its meat processing factories are considered some of the most hazardous work environment to work in. The company has also been accused of underpaying its workers as the practice of hiring undocumented workers depresses the basic salary. Tyson Foods has also prohibited a large part of its workforce from being unionized.
The practice of Tyson Foods hiring undocumented workers is a matter for all of us as consumers. While the country is struggling with the issue of illegal immigration, we could be playing an important role by encouraging Tyson Foods to bring in more illegal immigrants as we continue buying the companys products. It is our duty to fight for the rights of the workers in Tyson Foods factories. The major question therefore is what can we as consumers do to ensure Tyson Foods stops hiring undocumented workers
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