American Meat Institute Launches New Worker Safety Web Site

Washington, D.C. – The American Meat Institute (AMI) today unveiled workersafety.org, a new Web site to provide a resource for the meat industry, the public and the media about worker safety in the meat and poultry industry.

The new site provides easy access to a wide variety of government and industry resources and training materials for individuals throughout the meat and poultry industry. Included on the site are the landmark Ergonomic Program Management Guidelines for Meatpacking Plants. These guidelines were developed jointly by the industry, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). Since they were released, major reductions in injury and illness rates have been documented.

In addition to the industry resources and guidelines, the new site also includes a section highlighting the industry’s success in reducing injury and illness rates, the implementation of voluntary ergonomic guidelines, cooperation with OSHA as part of the AMI-OSHA Alliance and a “myths and facts” section, which rebuts the most common myths about the meat and poultry industry.

Since 1991, when the voluntary ergonomic guidelines were implemented, lost workday illnesses and injuries – those requiring days away from work to recuperate – have declined by nearly 60 percent. Total recordable injuries – all injuries management must record in the plant’s OSHA log – have declined 70 percent.

“Data clearly show that the meat and poultry industry’s non-competitive approach to workplace safety has yielded real and meaningful results,” said AMI President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle. “But we know that further progress is possible. We hope that this site will be a valuable resource to the industry, policymakers and the public as we continue our collaborative efforts to make even greater safety improvements.”