Gov. Mike Easley will ask lawmakers next week for additional money, staff and authority to determine how often North Carolina's poultry workers are hurt on the job and whether companies are treating them humanely.
Easley's proposals, outlined by top staffers in an interview Wednesday, come in response to a series of Observer stories highlighting working conditions in the poultry industry, where workers say those hurt on the job are routinely ignored, threatened or fired.
In his budget proposal to the legislature next week, Easley plans to request the following:
• $350,000 more each year for the state Division of Public Health so it can hire two occupational health nurses and two industrial hygienists who would regularly visit poultry plants. The inspectors would review records, conduct interviews and examine workers to determine whether companies are properly treating injured workers and recording all injuries.
• $720,000 more annually for the N.C. Department of Labor so that it can fill workplace inspector jobs and other positions now frozen due to federal funding cutbacks.
• Legislation requiring all large poultry plants to keep a licensed nurse or physician's assistant on site.
Lawmakers will also be asked to require poultry plants to keep records detailing each time an employee complains about a workplace injury -- and showing how the company handled the complaint, Easley's staffers say.
Some legislative leaders said they were receptive to Easley's proposal, though they have not yet gotten the details. The poultry industry also wanted more information.
The public health officials would use information gathered during inspections to present state officials with detailed reports about injuries in the poultry industry.
"If we're able to shine a spotlight on the real conditions in these plants, then those conditions should improve," said Alan Hirsch, the governor's policy director. "In 2008, it's unacceptable for workers to not be treated humanely."
The Observer found that one leading N.C. poultry company, House of Raeford Farms, has hidden the extent of injuries inside its plants. The company has compiled misleading injury reports, the newspaper found, and employees say it has dismissed some workers' requests to see a doctor, even when they complained of debilitating pain.
House of Raeford says it follows the law, provides good care and strives to protect workers.
In an interview with the Observer last month, Easley spoke out against the mistreatment of immigrant workers described in the Observer's stories. "This cannot be allowed to continue regardless of what budget situations are," he said.
The governor intends to send a strong message to lawmakers that changes are needed, his staffers say.
"Because this is based on human decency, his expectation is that it will be favorably received," Hirsch said.
Sen. Charles Albertson, D-Duplin, whose legislative district includes two large poultry plants, said that while he has not received complaints from workers, he wants to be sure employees are treated properly.
"If that's a problem, we need to take a look at it and fix it," said Albertson, who is vice chair of a Senate subcommittee that oversees the Department of Labor.
Rep. Beverly Earle, a Charlotte Democrat, said she believes the legislature would be willing to support Easley's proposals.
"The (Observer's) articles brought this to the forefront," said Earle, who serves as vice chair of a committee that oversees money for public health. "... I'm glad to see (Easley) is willing to step up."
Whether poultry companies will be so supportive is unclear. Bob Ford, executive director of the N.C. Poultry Federation, said he'd like to learn more before deciding whether to support Easley's proposals.
"We welcome productive regulation," said Ford, whose group represents the state's leading poultry processors. "On the other hand, we don't want to be overburdened with legislation that takes a lot of our time. We're trying to do things right out here."
State Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry said that while she appreciated the governor's efforts to get the agency additional funding, "we don't need him to micromanage our department."
Berry, a Republican seeking re-election, has pointed to declining injury rates as proof her department is succeeding. Easley, a Democrat, has said he is disappointed in the Labor Department's response to the Observer's stories.
In a prepared statement, Berry warned that the proposals for additional record keeping and licensed medical personnel "will increase the cost of doing business and might drive some businesses out of state."
"I oppose any new costs or regulations on businesses, especially when our economy is under stress," she said.
