![]() But it was up to PSSI to ensure its operations didn't create a market for child labor. Also, the elephant in the room, JBS, is at blame for hiring a cleaning company such as this to conduct their affairs in their plant. There's blame to be passed upon the mother who obtained the false documents so her child could work. Taking false identification that the young lady was 22 years of age when in fact she was 14. Forcing young children to work on a kill floor at a beefpacking plant. Judge Arthur Wetzel: Obviously, the company that employed this young lady has substantial blame. And in this audio recording, a stepfather is being sentenced to 30 days by Judge Arthur Wetzel. In county court, two parents have been convicted of child abuse or endangerment for sending kids to the plant. 'People to get the job done.' Jessica Lima told us turnover of workers was high in the tough, overnight jobs but there was never a let up in the pressure to get the slaughterhouses open by dawn. Because they just need the people to get the job done. ![]() Jessica Lima: They know but they don't say nothing. Scott Pelley: Do you believe that the supervisors at PSSI knew that these were children that they were hiring? Jessica Lima: They have the age from- like my kids are right now. She told us it was obvious some co-workers were children. ![]() Lima worked for PSSI, as an adult, in another plant. Jessica Lima: People, I know, we need money to survive, to pay bills, to pay rent. The children's pay was the same as adults so why hire kids? Jessica Lima gave us insight into this question-and into the desperation of the workers. The settlement ended the suit but it did not answer the question-why. The company paid the maximum fine of $1.5 million, which was about 1 percent of its cash on hand. PSSI promised not to do so in the future and agreed to regular audits. It did not dispute the finding that it hired children. and in the case of the children, E-Verify was especially dubious.įour weeks after its vow to "vigorously defend" itself, PSSI settled with the government. Employers have known for nearly 30 years that E-Verify is useless if the applicant has bought, borrowed or stolen an actual ID -which is common. Some immigrants use false papers to routinely beat the federal identification system that is known as E-Verify. The jobs are grim and dangerous-and so they are often filled by immigrants who are desperate for work. But that database is well known to be abused in an industry that can struggle to find workers. The statement said PSSI checks eligibility of employees, including this girl, on a federal database. It added, "we will defend ourselves vigorously against these claims." The company responded with this: "PSSI has an absolute company-wide prohibition" against hiring minors. Last November, the Department of Labor filed suit against PSSI. I believe that the number is likely much higher. Scott Pelley: Do you believe that 102 is the full extent? Shannon Rebolledo: We were able to identify and confirm 102 minors at 13 different plants in eight different states. Scott Pelley: How many minors did you identify? And if it were possible, you know, maybe it was- someone had slipped through the cracks. Shannon Rebolledo: It seemed possible, but not necessarily likely. Not, it seemed, a likely abuser of children. Their hard hats read "PSSI" for Packers Sanitation Services Incorporated- the nation's leading slaughterhouse cleaning service with 15,000 workers, in 432 plants, taking in more than a billion dollars a year. Because of privacy, two, with obscured faces, are all the U.S. ![]() In our story, you will see only two photos of children working in a slaughterhouse. But it was obvious to teachers in Grand Island, Nebraska who noticed acid burns on a child. Both companies say they had no idea they employed children in eight states. The disgrace was more disturbing because the company, PSSI, is vital to national food safety and its owner, Blackstone, claims to be a model of management. Eighty five years ago, the United States outlawed child abuse in sweatshop labor-a scourge that Franklin Roosevelt called "this ancient atrocity." So, it was a shock in 2022 to learn that an American company, owned by a Wall Street firm, sent children as young as 13 to work in slaughterhouses.
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