Title: 16-year-old died after getting sucked into machinery at Mississippi poultry plant using fake identity – NBC News investigation uncovers child labor at slaughterhouses
A tragedy unfolded at the Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, when 16-year-old Duvan Pérez, employed to clean up, lost his life after being sucked into equipment on July 14. However, a shocking revelation emerged following the incident – Pérez had secured the job using the identity of a 32-year-old man, emphasizing the concerning ease with which migrant children are finding work in hazardous industries.
Mar-Jac Poultry, a supplier for popular fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, got embroiled in the distressing situation after Pérez’s death raised questions regarding his true age. Illegal for minors to work in slaughterhouses, Pérez’s employment underscored the grim reality of child labor in the industry.
The Labor Department’s alarming statistics suggested that the number of children working illegally across various industries has almost doubled since 2019. The department has conducted over 800 child labor investigations across 47 states.
Mar-Jac claimed that the responsibility for the hiring of Pérez lay with a staffing company that supplies workers to the plant.
Moreover, concerning instances of stolen identities have also come to light, with reports indicating at least nine complaints filed over the past three years, alleging that American citizens’ identities were stolen and being used by Mar-Jac workers.
To add another layer to the complexity of the situation, NBC News’s yearlong investigation culminated in a groundbreaking documentary titled “Slaughterhouse Children,” which unveiled widespread child labor practices within the industry.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have launched investigations into Mar-Jac’s hiring practices and Pérez’s death. Ongoing additional scrutiny has been put on companies such as Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, and Hearthside Food Solutions following similar allegations of underage labor within their facilities.
As the investigations unravel, the distressing truth of the exploitation of children in the meat-processing industry at the intersection of labor laws and immigration challenges continues to come to light.
This heartbreaking event underscores the inadequacy in safeguarding the workplace, leaving detrimental consequences for the most vulnerable in society – migrant children seeking a better life in the United States.