Giving Compass' Take:
- Eli Hoff examines how meat processing workers are paid lower wages despite suffering from higher injury and illness rates as compared to other similar jobs.
- How can donors advocate for a living wage and adequate protections for meat processing workers?
- Read about the lack of protections for meat processing workers during COVID-19.
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Meat processing workers experience higher illness and injury rates compared with other manufacturing jobs, but their average wage is much lower.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics shows meat processing workers were paid an average hourly wage of $15.53 in May 2020, its latest calculation.
Workers experience higher illness and injury rates compared with other manufacturing jobs, but their average wage is lower than the average wage for all manufacturing employees, at $20.08 an hour.
The 3,100 workers processing meat in Massachusetts earned the highest average hourly wage, $21.24, in the country. Louisiana, with just over 5,500 meat processing workers, had the lowest average hourly pay, at $11.89.
Read the full article about meat processing workers' wages by Eli Hoff at The Counter.