‘I didn’t have a voice’: Mississippi poultry industry’s use and alleged abuse of immigrant workers

Maria was seven months pregnant with her now 12-year-old child when she slipped on the greasy floor of a Koch Foods poultry plant in Morton. She fell over, got back up, and resumed working. She had 40-pound boxes of freshly packed chicken to carry roughly seven minutes from the line to the frying area.

The further along in her pregnancy, the harder it was to do her job – and the more scared she was for herself and her baby. She asked to be moved to a less intensive position for the rest of her pregnancy. Her supervisors refused.

She says they asked her to present a doctor’s note before they allowed her to take more bathroom breaks than the one per shift granted to all workers.

“They don’t move you to another position, even if you have a fever, even if you’re crying,” Maria said. “Becaus