U.S. Refugee and Migrant policies will impact meat sector

The meat packing industry in the United States will be seriously impacted by President Trump’s four month freeze on the nation’s refugee programme and the 90 day ban on entry from seven predominantly Muslim states in the Middle East.

Mark Lauritsen, director of the food-processing division at IUF affiliated United Food & Commercial Workers Union told the Wall St Journal that the union’s 250,000 meat and poultry plant workers included tens of thousands of refugees and it is common for refugees to fill entry positions at meat packing plants.

Union handbooks are printed in more languages than English and Spanish. Many refugees are from Somalia, one of the countries that the President Trump has banned entry from for at least 90 days.

The union is also active in assisting migrant workers gain the appropriate documentation to work legally in the United States and the White House policies threatening to deport many of these workers means a big fight ahead for the union to defend its members.