America’s Chicken Industry Accused of Conspiring to Keep Immigrant Wages Down
- Officials meet at Florida hotel to share data, case claims
- Filing follows price-fixing complaint that spurred U.S. probe
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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Companies producing more than 90% of America’s chicken have conspired to depress wages for a largely immigrant work force in some of the nation’s most dangerous jobs, according to a lawsuit.
The case filed last week is mostly based on interviews with former employees, and claims the conspiracy among 18 companies, their subsidiaries and affiliates and two consulting firms continues until today. It was filed on behalf of three former workers, but seeks class-action status for hundreds of thousands, many with limited language skills and few other prospects for employment.