CDL Letter To Sanderson Farms - October - 1 - 2018
CDL Letter To Sanderson Farms - October - 1 - 2018
Mr. Sanderson,
The Centro de Derechos Laborales is writing on behalf of a group of Sanderson Farms workers who have
identified lack of bathroom access, chemical exposure, lack of information of chemicals in use at the plant
and sexual harassment as major workplace hazards.
Access to Bathrooms
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Standards require employers to provide workers
with access to restrooms when needed, as well as an adequate number of restrooms to accommodate the
workforce. We are concerned about supervisors' and assistant supervisors' continual denial of workers'
requests to use the restrooms. In addition to providing access to restrooms, facilities must also be clean,
sanitary and in serviceable condition. Sanderson Farms workers report an inadequate number of
restrooms, often in despair and unsanitary condition.
We support workers' demand that Sanderson Farms plant manager in Bryan, Texas do the following
regarding access to restrooms:
1) Provide workers bathroom breaks when needed. This policy should be adopted and outlined in the
employee handbook.
OSHA's Chemical Right to Know Standard (HazCom) states that workers have the right to know what
chemicals they work with, those chemicals' health effects, and how to protect themselves from them.
Moreover, OSHA requires employers to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at no cost.
Workers do not have information about the chemicals used in their work areas or their health effects, and
hence, are unaware of how to protect their health. Depending on the production area, workers may not
receive adequate PPE or may need to purchase replacements every week at the vending machines in the
cafeteria in order to protect themselves.
We support workers' demand that Sanderson Farms plant manager in Bryan, Texas do the following
regarding information of chemicals used and Personal Protective Equipment at the plant:
1) Provide chemical information (safety data sheet) at a location close to work areas that includes name of
the chemicals, its authorized concentration levels, health effects and forms of protection.
1
End to Sexual Harassment
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations prohibit a person to harassed because
of that person’s sex. According to the EEOC, harassment can include "unwelcome sexual advances,
requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature"
(https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm). Sanderson Farms workers report high levels
of sexual harassment that include all forms described in regulations, often leading to a hostile working
environment.
We support workers' demand that Sanderson Farms plant manager in Bryan, Texas do the following
regarding sexual harassment:
3) Enforce sanctions for supervisors that commit any form of sexual harassment.
We look forward to working with Sanderson Farms on these important issues to find a solution that is
best for everyone.
Regards,