1,300 Teamster Workers at IBP Go on Strike

About 1,300 immigrant workers at the Pasco, Wash., slaughterhouse of meat processing giant IBP Inc. are on strike, protesting what they claim are inhumane and unsafe working conditions at the plant that turns out everything from steaks to tallow for glue. Although represented by the Teamsters, the workers walked out on their own Friday after managers allegedly refused to slow down the assembly production line. A strike vote called later by the Teamsters was approved and sanctioned Wednesday. The workers, whose starting pay is about $7 per hour, are demanding a variety of improvements, including better wages and the right to take more frequent bathroom breaks. “What they want most is dignity and respect,” said David Cortinez, a spokesman for the workers. Nebraska-based IBP is the nation’s largest producer of beef, pork and meat by-products. IBP spokesman Gary Michelson said the company had already shifted some of the Pasco slaughtering operations to other plants. He denied the workers’ allegations. With labor scarce in the Midwest and Northwest, IBP processing facilities have been recruiting workers from Los Angeles and Orange County, largely through Spanish-language media. A majority of the company’s production workers are immigrants from Mexico and Central America.