By Julia Ainsley, Laura Strickler and Lara Fernandez -
NBC News
One of the world's largest food companies cut all its contracts with Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) after a Department of Labor investigation found that more than 100 children – some as young as 13 – had been illegally employed by PSSI to clean slaughterhouses at night.
The multinational company Cargill told NBC News that it had ended its business relationship with PSSI in February after the Labor Department report, and that the company has "zero tolerance" for the use of child labor.
It is illegal for a person under the age of 18 to do such work
, which includes the use of potentially dangerous chemicals and equipment.
Cargill hired PSSI for cleaning services at 14 of its plants
meat packaging.
In February, the Department of Labor found that 26 minors were working for PSSI: 25 children were cleaning up blood and animal remains on the floor at the Cargill plant in Dodge City, Kansas, and another minor was cleaning up at the Cargill plant in Fiona, Texas.
A Department of Labor investigator photographed a child who worked for Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) cleaning a slaughterhouse in Grand Island, Nebraska. US Department of Labor.
NBC News and Noticias Telemundo have reported extensively on PSSI's violations of child labor laws.
We recently interviewed a 16-year-old boy from Guatemala who said he still worked for PSSI at a slaughterhouse in Kansas.
We also interviewed people who claimed their identities were stolen and used by others to get jobs with PSSI.
In a statement, Cargill said it had notified PSSI of the termination of all contracts for its cleaning services and was currently seeking "alternative solutions [...] without compromising our commitment to people and food safety."
“To be clear, although the allegations resolved between PSSI and the Department of Labor were not related to any misconduct claim against Cargill, we will
not tolerate the use of child labor in our facilities
or supply chain.
Cargill is strict in ensuring fair and equitable labor practices for all employees who work in our facilities and obliges third parties to follow the highest ethical standards," said a spokesperson for the multinational.
Concern about law that would allow minors to do dangerous work
Feb 22, 202303:41
PSSI declined to comment on Cargill's decision, calling it an "individual consumer matter."
PSSI had previously said it also had a zero-tolerance policy on child exploitation and was taking steps to find child laborers who were using false identities to pose as adults.
[Parents of Migrant Girl Exploited Cleaning Nebraska Slaughterhouses Face Jail and Fear Deportation]
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter Wednesday to 18 of the nation's largest meat and poultry processors, telling them that
child labor in the meatpacking industry is a problem that cannot be ignored. .
"While this issue is not unique to the food industry, the fact that it is a problem cannot be ignored," said Vilsack, citing Labor Department statistics revealing that exploitative child labor in the United States has increased 69% since 2018.
This piece is part of the joint coverage of NBC News and Noticias Telemundo.
