Nearly 20 chicken processing businesses were named in the Aug. 30 complaint, including Sanderson Farms (Mississippi), and two processors Koch Foods and Peco Foods. These processors are responsible for raids on immigration enforcement operations in August at Mississippi plants. Tyson Foods, a Mississippi-based company, was also named in the suit. Editor’s Note: Joe Sanderson (chief executive officer at Sanderson Farms) and his wife Kathy have made a donation to Mississippi Today. According to the lawsuit, employees were paid artificially low wages by executives at these companies starting in 2009. These plants are home to some of the most dangerous and low-paying jobs in America and produce more than 90% of all chicken products in the United States. Three Arkansas workers who remove bones from chicken carcasses were the subject of a class action lawsuit filed by attorneys in several states. The lawsuit’s defendants have yet to respond. In addition to closed-door meetings the lawsuit claims that the managers of the poultry plants traded wage and benefit data with competitors and then gave the information to executives of companies “who used the data for the purpose of fixing compensation.” According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs ordered an economic analysis which revealed that the pay at non-poultry food processor plants was higher than the poultry plant’s and increased more quickly. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mississippi’s 6,540 poultry, meat and fish cutters/trimmers earn an average of $12.27 per hour. This is higher than the hourly average in Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee ($10.90), but lower than Arkansas ($12.58), and Texas ($12.86). Sanderson Farms, a Mississippi-based company, is one of the defendants. However they did not respond to our request for comment. Previously, Sanderson Farms executives have boasted about the company’s above-industry-average wages. In an interview with Mississippi Today in August, Mike Cockrell, chief finance officer of the publicly traded, Laurel company stated that “We have the best workforce in this industry.” They work hard. It’s hard work. They wake up each morning to get their children ready for school, and then they arrive at the plant at 5:12 AM. Cockrell stated that Sanderson Farms is a company with a high level of respect and pride. It was not subject to recent immigration raids. Sanderson Farms pays its employees $15 an hour, more than twice the minimum wage. This is after the employee has been with the company for 90 days. Cockrell stated that the company raises its rates each year. The current rate has been in place since June 2nd. We also pay 75 percent of the employee’s health insurance, as well as their family’s dental insurance. This is a great package, especially for unskilled labor. Mississippi Today called Mark Leggett, President of the Mississippi Poultry Association, and Tyson and Peco corporate offices on Wednesday. Mississippi is the fifth-largest chicken producer state in the country, producing approximately 750 million broiler birds each year. According to a Mississippi State University publication the state’s poultry industry employs 25,000 people and generates more than $18 million in economic activity. This is the largest share of Mississippi’s agricultural economy. On July 1, 2019, Mississippi Works had 1,964 job openings for meat cutters and trimmers. Some of these jobs paid as low as $7.25 per hour. These allegations echo labor-rights experts’ long-held beliefs that poultry processing plants have a history of increasing their bottom lines at the expense or improving wages and working conditions. Angela Stuesse, a University of North Carolina professor and author of “Scratching out a Living” (Slapping Latinos, Race and Work in the Deep South), said that the poultry industry seeks to reduce labor costs to maximize profits. She also stated that the “Hispanic Project” was a way for Mississippi’s poultry plants to recruit immigrant workers to avoid increased labor organizing among its predominantly African American workforce. According to a New Yorker article, Debbie Berkowitz (ex-senior policy advisor for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration), “It’s an industrial that targets the most vulnerable segment of workers and brings them into” “And when one group becomes too powerful and defends their rights, they figure who’s even worse and move them in.” Stuesse stated that the Hispanic Project attracted the attention of industry leaders as well as other food processing companies. They reached out to the architects for advice on how to duplicate the practice. Stuesse claims that the meetings in the lawsuit recall earlier collaborations in which poultry companies exchanged knowledge and shared ideas on how to improve their bottom lines. According to the lawsuit, executives from the company met at the Hilton Sandestin Resort Hotel & Spa, Destin, Florida to discuss worker compensation. This was around the same time that the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association held its annual Human Resource Seminar. However, the meetings were not recorded in the association’s schedule. The Mississippi Poultry Association holds its annual convention at Hilton Sandestin Resort in Destin. Since at least 2009, Leggett has bought hotel rooms and prepared seafood meals for Mississippi officials.