A shocking investigation by the Department of Labor (DOL) has uncovered persistent child labor violations at Seaboard Triumph Foods’ pork processing plant in Sioux City, Iowa. Over four years, children as young as 13 were illegally employed to sanitize hazardous equipment using corrosive chemicals, violating federal laws designed to protect minors from dangerous work.
The revelations of widespread child labor exploitation in industries like meatpacking are particularly relevant today due to three critical trends: the rise in documented violations, ongoing legislative rollbacks of child labor protections in the U.S., and the intersection of these violations with global migration crises.
Revealing repeat failures
The DOL’s investigation exposed how Seaboard Triumph Foods and its contractors repeatedly employed minors in dangerous roles. From 2019 to 2023, sanitation contractor Qvest hired 11 children to clean hazardous machinery, including head splitters and neck clippers, during overnight shifts.
Even though Federal law prohibits minors from working in meat processing due to an increased risk of injury, CBS reports that,
Seaboard Foods is among the nation’s biggest pork producers. In addition to Iowa, Seaboard Foods, a division of Seaboard Corporation, has operations in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Mexico, according to the company’s website.
According to Michael Lazzeri, the DOL’s Midwest regional administrator,
“These findings illustrate Seaboard Triumph Foods’ history of children working illegally in their Sioux City facility since at least September 2019. Despite changing sanitation contractors, children continued to work in dangerous occupations at this facility.”
The investigation revealed that Fayette Janitorial Services, which took over Seaboard’s sanitation contract in 2023, rehired some of the same children previously employed by Qvest. Fayette also employed 15 minors, some as young as 13, at a Perdue Farms facility in Virginia, where a 14-year-old suffered severe injuries.
Migrant children most at risk
The exploitation of migrant children in hazardous industries is a growing concern. A December 2023 New York Times investigation detailed thousands of Mexican and Central American children working dangerous jobs after crossing the U.S. border alone. These minors often clean slaughterhouses and handle dangerous machinery, with cases of severe injuries, such as amputations, reported.
However, the problem extends beyond migrant children. In Wisconsin, a 16-year-old high school student tragically died after becoming trapped in a sawmill machine. Similarly, federal investigations have uncovered cases of minors cleaning meat grinders, installing Christmas lights on rooftops, and working excessive hours in fast-food restaurants.
As reported by CBS,
From an elevated waterslide at a Jacksonville, Florida, beach park to a sawmill in Clarkrange, Tennessee, federal investigators are finding children across the country working illegal hours and performing risky, unlawful tasks. In May, federal investigators found a 13-year-old girl allegedly working up to 60 hours a week on an assembly line in Luverne, Alabama.
The DOL’s Wage and Hour division reported 736 investigations uncovering child labor violations affecting over 4,000 children in 2024 alone.
Legislative rollbacks compounding the need for action!
Simultaneously, there has been a concerning push to weaken child labor protections in several U.S. states. Proposals to allow younger teens to work longer hours in hazardous environments jeopardize hard-won labor rights. These legislative efforts risk legitimizing exploitation and increasing the prevalence of unsafe work conditions for children. The findings in this story, which document years of unlawful practices, starkly contrast with such legislative rollbacks, highlighting the potential consequences of eroding protections.
This investigation is a wake-up call for policymakers, businesses, and the public. The findings show that without strong enforcement and a commitment to upholding labor laws, children will continue to be exploited in dangerous industries.
Take action with Freedom United to demand an end to child labor law rollbacks, push for greater accountability in industries known for violations, and ensure that no child is subjected to hazardous, exploitative work.
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