Gabriel Thompson: How the USDA Is Endangering Workers’ Health

Gabriel Thompson: How the USDA Is Endangering Workers’ Health

Gabriel Thompson: How the USDA Is Endangering Workers’ Health

The USDA proposes to increase the line speed at poultry plants, which could endanger employees who already work long hours doing repetitive hand motions.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

The USDA proposes to increase the line speed at poultry plants, which could endanger employees who already work long hours doing repetitive hand motions.

At poultry plants, employees already work around-the-clock hours performing repetitive motions that cause skeletal-muscular disorders and hand injuries. So why is the USDA proposing to increase the line speed? In this episode of Nation Conversations, Gabriel Thompson, who once spent a month working at a large poultry plant, joins Executive Editor Betsy Reed to talk about the proposal and the effect it could have on workers.

Gabriel Thompson’s recent article, “New Rules Mean New Hardship for Poultry Workers,” appears in this week’s issue of The Nation.

Subscribe to Nation Conversations on iTunes for exclusive audio of Nation editors and writers digging into the topics and issues that shape the magazine. Check back for a new episode each Thursday.

Erin Schikowski

Time is running out to have your gift matched 

In this time of unrelenting, often unprecedented cruelty and lawlessness, I’m grateful for Nation readers like you. 

So many of you have taken to the streets, organized in your neighborhood and with your union, and showed up at the ballot box to vote for progressive candidates. You’re proving that it is possible—to paraphrase the legendary Patti Smith—to redeem the work of the fools running our government.

And as we head into 2026, I promise that The Nation will fight like never before for justice, humanity, and dignity in these United States. 

At a time when most news organizations are either cutting budgets or cozying up to Trump by bringing in right-wing propagandists, The Nation’s writers, editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, and illustrators confront head-on the administration’s deadly abuses of power, blatant corruption, and deconstruction of both government and civil society. 

We couldn’t do this crucial work without you.

Through the end of the year, a generous donor is matching all donations to The Nation’s independent journalism up to $75,000. But the end of the year is now only days away. 

Time is running out to have your gift doubled. Don’t wait—donate now to ensure that our newsroom has the full $150,000 to start the new year. 

Another world really is possible. Together, we can and will win it!

Love and Solidarity,

John Nichols 

Executive Editor, The Nation

Ad Policy
x