Report: Trump’s Deportations May Force Meatpacking Industry to Raise WagesJohn Binder 17 Dec 2024
President-Elect Donald Trump’s plans to deport hundreds of thousands, potentially millions, of illegal aliens may force industries like meatpacking to raise wages to attract new workers.
Meatpacking industry insiders told Axios that they worry deportations will see many illegal workers deported — a move that could drive up wages. Anywhere from 30 to 50 percent of the industry’s workforce is illegal.
“This is a decision by the industry. It’s a wink and a nod — this is how they can keep labor costs down,” Debbie Berkowitz, who worked at OSHA during the Obama administration, told Axios.
The latest figures on the meatpacking industry suggest one dominated by only a handful of giant corporations with record profits and yet, continuously low wages.
“The four largest meatpacking companies in the United States control 54% of the poultry market, 70% of the pork market, and 85% of the beef market,” a report from Fast Company, a business magazine, details:
The few companies that run the meatpacking industry have reported record profits over the last decade, and have often lobbied to change state and federal laws and relax industry oversight. In 2021, Tyson reported a net income of approximately $3 billion, and, in 2020, a net income of $2 billion. In comparison, JBS, the largest meatpacking company in the world, reported $3.047 billion in net income in 2021. Despite such profits, industry wages have remained low for the industry’s many immigrant workers. In 2021, poultry processing wages at Tyson Foods’ plants in Arkansas put many workers at the poverty line, even as profits soared. Low wages didn’t translate into lower prices for consumers, either.
An academic study published in 2022 found that the meatpacking industry could attract far more workers if wages were raised and benefits were expanded.
more
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/12/17/report-trumps-deportations-may-force-meatpacking-industry-raise-wages/
