Hog Wild
The Battle for Workers' Rights at the World's Largest Slaughterhouse
by Lynn Waltz
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Pub Date May 15 2018 | Archive Date May 15 2018
University of Iowa Press | University Of Iowa Press
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Description
When Smithfield Foods opened its pork processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, in 1992, workers in the rural area were thrilled to have jobs at what was billed as “the largest slaughterhouse in the world.” However, they soon left in droves because of the fast, unrelenting line speed and high rate of injury. Those who stayed wanted higher wages and safer working conditions, but every time they tried to form a union, the company quickly cracked down, firing union leaders, assaulting organizers, and setting minority groups against each other.
Author and journalist Lynn Waltz reveals how these aggressive tactics went unchecked for years until Sherri Buffkin, a higher-up manager at Smithfield, blew the lid off the company’s corrupt practices. Through meticulous reporting, in-depth interviews with key players, and a mind for labor and environmental histories, Waltz weaves a fascinating tale of the nearly two-decade struggle that eventually brought justice to the workers and accountability to the food giant, pitting the world’s largest slaughterhouse against the world’s largest meatpacking union.
Following in a long tradition of books that expose the horrors of the meatpacking industry—from Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle to Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation—Hog Wild uncovers rampant corporate environmental hooliganism, labor exploitation, and union-busting by one of the nation’s largest meat producers. Waltz’s eye-opening examination sheds new light on the challenges workers face not just in meatpacking, but everywhere workers have lost their power to collectively bargain with powerful corporations.
Advance Praise
“Lynn Waltz weaves in-depth interviews of key actors and court records with contemporaneous newspaper reporting into a compelling saga of the fourteen-year campaign to unionize the world’s largest meatpacking plant. Hog Wild is a valuable addition to the literature on workers’ struggles for better wages and working conditions in the meatpacking industry.”—Donald D. Stull, coauthor, Slaughterhouse Blues: The Meat and Poultry Industry in North America
“Lynn Waltz’s examination of Smithfield Foods’s campaigns against unionism in the modern meat industry is vivid and haunting. Her book offers compelling insight into the fate of the modern American labor movement and, crucially, evidence for why the United States is increasingly divided between rich and poor.”—Wilson J. Warren, author, Tied to the Great Packing Machine: The Midwest and Meatpacking
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781609385859 |
| PRICE | $24.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 280 |
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Featured Reviews
Dee A, Reviewer
More than once during “Hog Wild,” I questioned that the events I was reading about could happen a mere 20-25 years ago. The mixture of race and labor violations at one facility appeared mind-boggling. The disregard for the environment and welfare of a state’s inhabitants (North Carolina), at first glance, also was difficult to believe. Fortunately, the book is backed up with a ton of facts and references.
Author Lynn Waltz waded through thousands of pages of documents to present the story of Smithfield Foods and the efforts to unionize and protect their workers (one NLRB document, detailing hundreds of charges against Smithfield Packing in the late 1990s, was almost 8,000 pages long). Other court documents were also used to provide background for the book, and numerous people were interviewed. Many newspaper articles are also listed, as well as numerous books about food and the meatpacking industry. In short, Ms. Waltz has more than done her homework.
In 1993, Smithfield Foods opened a massive meatpacking operation in North Carolina. The book documents the violations of workers’ rights and the efforts of management to cover up the illegal aspects of how they were doing business. The efforts to unionize the plant (as well as Smithfield’s subsequent reactions) are humanized, as we are allowed access into the lives of those who were affected. The book moves with the pace of a well-written novel, and the people involved are defined with all their humanistic qualities.
If I had anything negative to say, it would involve the author’s attempt to unnecessarily inject opinions on racism. For instance, stating that one of the most difficult jobs was handled by “…the largest, strongest me, almost always black…” might indicate racism except for the lead sentence of the chapter which tells us that the majority of the workers were black. There are plenty of potential racist episodes between Smithfield management and employees without these asides. Thankfully, they are not littered throughout the book, but one can only wish that the Reverend Jesse Jackson’s words would have been consistently heeded: “This is not an issue about black and white. It is about right and wrong.”
Despite these small hiccups, Ms. Waltz has put together an incredible story, one that everyone should be interested in reading. The mass of research required to put together a book of this importance cannot be denied. Giving voice to those folks who stood up for what they thought was right is a bravery of its own. Five stars.
Beth S, Reviewer
Fascinating expose" on the pork industry. The employees are penalized, threatened and fired for made up reasons just so management can keep a union out! Also, the treatment of the animals is appalling as well! This was a very informative, fascinating read.
Jonathan G, Reviewer
Very interesting book in regard to the power that Smithfield Foods holds in Eastern North Carolina. This is an important story the needed to be told. It describes the ruthless behavior of the company and its upper level managers. It appears that they view their employees as serfs rather than partners. There is little else but the pork industry going on in that region so Smithfield continues to hold great power.
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