{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-presses-tyson-foods-ceo-dangerous-child-labor-practices/", "Hawley Presses Tyson Foods CEO on Dangerous Child Labor Practices", "2023-09-19", "2023", "2023-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King, demanding answers after a disturbing new report from The New York Times exposed unsafe, illegal child labor practices within the company.\n\n\u201cI am alarmed by new reports that Tyson Foods has actively participated in dangerous and illegal child labor practices,\u201d wrote Senator Hawley. \u201cAny company that employs, facilitates, encourages, or excuses child labor must be held to account. In light of the facts, you owe the American people an explanation as to Tyson\u2019s child-labor practices.\u201d\n\nLast Friday, Senator Hawley spoke with CEO Donnie King and secured his commitment to protect Missouri jobs, following an announcement that Tyson Foods would be closing its southern Missouri locations. He also introduced the Strengthening Antitrust Enforcement for Meatpacking Act, which would empower antitrust enforcers to break up giant meatpacking and poultry monopolies and place power back in the hands of Missouri\u2019s farmers and workers.\n\nIn May, Senator Hawley introduced the Corporate Responsibility for Child Labor Elimination Act, legislation to compel large corporations to eradicate unlawful child labor from their operations in the United States.\n\nRead the full letter here and below.\n\nSeptember 19, 2023\n\nDonnie D. King\n\nChief Executive Officer\n\nTyson Foods\n\n2200 W. Don Tyson Parkway\n\nSpringdale, AR 72762\n\nDear Mr. King:\n\nI am alarmed by new reports that Tyson Foods has actively participated in dangerous and illegal child labor practices. According to a lengthy report published yesterday in the New York Times, the poultry processing industry has regularly contracted with companies that employ child workers and subjected those children to highly unsafe working conditions. I am especially concerned that Tyson is subcontracting illicit child labor to avoid legal liability.\n\nThe Times report recounts a number of horrific instances in which children\u2014many, if not most, of whom crossed the southern border as unaccompanied minors\u2014were severely injured or even killed while illegally employed at chicken processing plants. The report opens with the story of a teenager whose arm was ripped down to the tendons after it got caught in a factory machine. It goes on to quote a federal inspector who had tried to \u201ctrack down a teenager who she heard had fallen from a ladder at Tyson and broken his leg.\u201d Other examples include an eighth grader from Guatemala who was killed two months ago while working the cleaning shift at a Mississippi plant.\n\nTyson has stated that the company has \u201cno tolerance for child labor,\u201d but the Times report suggests otherwise. According to the Times, every child interviewed by its reporter was fired\u2014after \u201c[s]upervisors who oversaw the cleaning shift at the Tyson plant warned their corporate office that a reporter was spending a lot of time in town.\u201d One of the fired child workers said: \u201cThey made plenty of money from our labor and then tossed us out like trash.\u201d\n\nThe Times suggests Tyson evades accountability for illegal child labor by relying on subcontractors. \u201cEven when inspectors do catch child-labor violations,\u201d the Times reported, \u201cthey usually fine only the subcontracted companies, not the brands themselves.\u201d In short, \u201cthe brands that [have] benefitted from the children\u2019s labor [have] faced no consequences.\u201d\n\nAny company that employs, facilitates, encourages, or excuses child labor must be held to account. In light of the facts, you owe the American people an explanation as to Tyson\u2019s child-labor practices. Please provide me with answers to the following questions by the end of this week:\n\nTo your knowledge, how many instances of child labor violations have occurred at Tyson facilities in the past five years?\n\nIs Tyson fully cooperating with the Department of Labor and any other state or federal authorities that may be investigating the company over potential violations of child labor law?\n\nWhat internal controls are in place to ensure that Tyson does not employ underage workers, or subcontract with companies that employ underage workers?\n\nIn light of the Times report, what changes to company policy will Tyson be making?\n\nHow does Tyson currently handle complaints from its employees or employees of its subcontractors regarding child labor?\n\nWill Tyson pledge to protect whistleblowers who raise concerns regarding child labor?\n\nWill you commit to ending any contracts with companies that have been fined for illegally employing children?\n\nWill you commit to an independent audit to ensure that Tyson\u2019s entire production chain is free of illegal child labor?\n\nI look forward to your prompt response.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:35:26Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-presses-tyson-foods-ceo-dangerous-child-labor-practices/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6942201182246208, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}