The New York Times calls it “A startling glimpse into the meatpacking industry’s abuse of undocumented and incarcerated workers.” But the review’s not for Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle;” it’s for “Life and Death of the American Worker: The Immigrants Taking on America’s Largest Meatpacking Company” by Alice Driver, a journalist and research professor at the Cronkite School.
The book reveals the disturbing working conditions in a Tyson Foods meatpacking plant in Springdale, Arkansas through the stories of its workers. Driver uncovered stories of chemical accidents, a toxic gas leak, carpal tunnel syndrome, and the exploitation of prison populations and undocumented workers, and amid it all, efforts among employees to organize in pursuit of better conditions.
The story began as a single article for Driver; she began her investigation in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, as cases among meatpacking workers grew. Her initial inquiry developed into an opus at the crossroads of labor and human rights that she calls the most difficult project she’s ever done.
“Life and Death of the American Worker” has caught the attention of the New Yorker, earned rave reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly—and ignited conversation beyond media and economist circles. Driver appeared on actress Alyssa Milano’s podcast Sorry Not Sorry, and told host Ben Jackson that even though humans are not machines, Tyson tasked workers as if they were, forcing meatpackers to work in the plant during the pandemic after corporate employees were told to work from home.
Driver said she felt compelled to bring these workers’ stories to life because their employers don’t want them to have a voice.
“I think it’s important,” Driver said, “especially at this political moment, to recognize the labor of immigrant workers who are 100% the backbone of not just the meatpacking industry, but also agriculture.” Driver said.
Learn more about Alice Driver, and find “Life and Death of the American Worker: The Immigrants Taking on America’s Largest Meatpacking Company” at Amazon.
