December 22nd 2024.
On a beautiful day three years ago, a sorrowful crowd gathered on the South Side of Chicago to say goodbye to Adewale Ezekiel Ogunyemi. He had passed away at the age of 42, leaving behind his mother, wife, and two daughters. Adewale had come to the United States from Nigeria in 2019 on a tourist visa, hoping to earn enough to support his family. However, he soon found that working in a bank was not enough, so he turned to temporary jobs through staffing agencies in the Chicago area.
Adewale was a shy and laid-back person, often assigned to night jobs due to his quiet nature. One of the agencies he worked for, Snider-Blake Personnel, sent him to Rich Products Corp. to clean machines used to make food products sold at popular stores like Walmart and distributed by suppliers like Sysco. It was during one of these night shifts in July 2021 that tragedy struck.
Co-workers at Rich Products heard a scream and rushed to the area where the dough for frozen pizzas was being prepared. There, they found Adewale, tangled in a machine that helps the dough ferment. His right arm was trapped and wrapped around his head, and his chest was crushed. The fire department had to rescue him from the machine, but it was too late. Adewale was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Unfortunately, Adewale's story is not unique. Staffing agencies have become a common part of America's on-demand economy, providing workers for factories, warehouses, and distribution centers where positions are often difficult to fill. These agencies often employ people who are in the country without legal permission and are desperate for work, making them vulnerable to exploitation. By using staffing agencies, companies can avoid responsibility for the hiring and treatment of these workers, while still benefiting from their labor.
Research has shown that temporary workers, regardless of their immigration status, face higher rates of serious injuries compared to permanent workers. In Washington state alone, a study found that the injury rate for temporary workers was 67% higher than their permanently hired counterparts. To better understand the dangerous working conditions faced by these workers, reporters reviewed thousands of pages of documents and interviewed experts, industry veterans, and more than 100 temporary workers, many of whom were in the country illegally.
The investigation revealed that many people employed by staffing agencies, including those without legal permission to work in the U.S., have been placed in hazardous situations where they have suffered serious injuries, amputations, miscarriages, and even death. Unfortunately, it is often difficult for these workers or their families to hold the companies accountable due to the legal shield provided by staffing agencies.
Federal workplace safety records show that since 2017, at least 50 workplace deaths have involved staffing agencies, and more than 1,000 severe injuries were reported from 2015 to 2023, including amputations, broken bones, and crushed body parts. Illinois, where Adewale's tragic accident occurred, has been at the forefront of efforts to regulate staffing agencies. The state has strict laws that require companies to use registered agencies and allow worker centers to file complaints on behalf of temporary workers.
However, despite these regulations, federal, state, and local regulators have investigated at least 25 staffing agencies in Illinois for potential safety and other violations. These investigations were referred to the Department of Homeland Security under a program initiated by the Biden administration that encourages immigrant workers to cooperate with regulators. Additionally, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation into Rich Products was also referred to Homeland Security.
While Snider-Blake Personnel did not respond to requests for comment, a spokesperson for Rich Products stated that the company does not hire workers without legal permission and that they cannot speak to the practices of the staffing agency. The company also expressed their condolences for Adewale's death and stated that it was not representative of their culture of safety. They also described the referral of the OSHA investigation to Homeland Security as a procedural matter.
Unfortunately, many workers in the country illegally are afraid to speak out due to the fear of being fired or deported. This creates a perverse incentive for companies to hire workers who are less likely to report safety concerns. According to Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University, these undocumented workers are essential to the U.S. economy but are not adequately protected by labor laws.
Stephen C. Dwyer, president of the American Staffing Association, acknowledges that there are "bad actors" in the industry, but claims that the majority of staffing agencies are law-abiding and have the best interest of their workers in mind. He also stated that agencies that continue to place workers in dangerous situations will face financial repercussions.
The industrial pizza-making process involves large, complex machines with sharp blades and fast-moving parts. In the case of Rich Products, the machines were usually cleaned at night by temporary workers who were often given minimal or no training. This lack of proper training and safety protocols can lead to severe injuries, as seen with Adewale's tragic death. Unfortunately, many workers are afraid to speak up and report safety concerns, creating a dangerous and exploitative environment for those employed by staffing agencies.
It was a beautiful day three years ago when a sorrowful crowd gathered on the South Side of Chicago to lay to rest Adewale Ezekiel Ogunyemi. Back in Nigeria, Ogunyemi had struggled to make enough money working at a bank to support his mother, wife, and two daughters. So in 2019, he made the decision to fly to the United States on a tourist visa, and then obtained false identification documents. He signed up for temporary work through various staffing agencies in the Chicago area, as he was determined to provide for his family.
Despite being shy and reserved, Ogunyemi was willing to take on night shifts. One of the agencies he worked for, Snider-Blake Personnel, assigned him to clean machines at Rich Products Corp., a company that produces food products sold at popular stores like Walmart and distributed by suppliers such as Sysco. It was during one of these night shifts in July of 2021 that tragedy struck. Co-workers heard a scream and rushed to the area where the dough for frozen pizzas was rising, only to find Ogunyemi tangled in a machine. He was 42 years old and had become entangled in a machine that helps the dough ferment, resulting in a fatal accident. The fire department had to be called in to free him from the machine, and he was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
The use of staffing agencies has become commonplace in America's on-demand economy. Companies often rely on these firms to fill positions in factories, warehouses, and distribution centers, where it can be difficult to find workers. However, as reported by The New York Times, many of these workers are in the country illegally and are desperate for employment, making them vulnerable to exploitation. By using staffing agencies as intermediaries, companies can avoid taking responsibility for the hiring and treatment of these workers, while still benefiting from their labor.
While there is limited data on the subject, research has shown that temporary workers face a higher rate of serious injuries compared to their permanently hired counterparts. In Washington state, a recent study found that the injury rate among temporary workers was 67% higher than those of permanent workers. This was also reflected in studies conducted in Illinois and Ohio. Michael Foley, an occupational health research economist at the state's Department of Labor and Industries, analyzed the data and found these alarming results.
To gain a deeper understanding of the hazardous conditions in these workplaces, reporters combed through thousands of pages of documents, lawsuits, police reports, and internal company records. They also interviewed researchers, staffing industry professionals, and labor advocates, as well as over 100 temporary workers, many of whom were in the country illegally. The investigation revealed that many of these workers, including those without legal status, were placed in dangerous situations that resulted in serious physical injuries, such as fractures, amputations, and even miscarriages. In some cases, these workers lost their lives. However, when it came to seeking justice, it was often challenging for the workers or their families to hold the companies accountable, as the staffing agency acted as a legal shield.
A review of federal workplace safety records by The New York Times found at least 50 workplace deaths since 2017 that involved staffing agencies. Additionally, there were over 1,000 cases of severe injuries, including amputations, broken bones, and crushed body parts, reported by workers employed through staffing agencies from 2015 to 2023. Over 50 of these severe injuries occurred in Illinois, where the surrounding counties of Chicago are home to numerous food processing and manufacturing plants. This region is also a major hub for freight transportation, with six of the largest railway lines in the country converging there, earning billions of dollars each year.
Illinois has taken steps to regulate staffing agencies, making it one of the few states where companies can be fined for using unregistered agencies. Additionally, a state law allows worker centers and other organizations to file complaints on behalf of temporary workers, who may not have the resources to do so themselves. Federal, state, and local regulators have initiated at least 25 investigations into staffing agencies operating in Illinois for potential safety and other violations. These investigations were then referred to the Department of Homeland Security under a program introduced by the Biden administration, which encourages immigrant workers to cooperate with regulators. The records obtained by The New York Times did not specify the status of these investigations, and a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson did not provide further information.
The records also revealed that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had opened an investigation into Rich Products, the food manufacturer where Ogunyemi lost his life. This investigation was also referred to the Department of Homeland Security. Snider-Blake Personnel, the staffing agency that placed Ogunyemi at Rich Products, did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson from Rich Products stated that they do not hire workers without legal status, but they could not comment on the practices of the staffing agency. The company expressed their sadness over Ogunyemi's death and claimed that the incident was not representative of their safety culture. They also deemed the referral of the OSHA investigation to Homeland Security as a procedural matter.
Many workers without legal status are afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs or being deported. Despite this, more than two dozen workers in Illinois agreed to share their experiences, on the condition of anonymity. The focus was on the food industry in the Chicago area. These workers spoke of staffing agencies and companies that expected them to take on hazardous jobs with little or no training, discouraged them from reporting injuries, and fired them when they were badly hurt.
One such incident occurred at Rana Meal Solutions, a factory in Bartlett, Illinois, where temporary workers were required to clean pasta machines without shutting them down completely. This resulted in a severe injury for one worker, an immigrant from Venezuela employed by Surge Staffing. His right hand got caught in a machine that suddenly turned on, resulting in the loss of his arm. OSHA fined Rana Meal Solutions over $178,000 for exposing workers to hazards from moving machine parts and other violations.
Among the workplace deaths identified by The New York Times was a woman from Honduras, who was in the country without legal status and was beheaded while working as a cleaner at Miracapo Pizza Co. in Gurnee, Illinois. This facility produces frozen pizzas for well-known brands such as Newman's Own, Hunt Brothers Pizza, and Quest Nutrition. The woman, Leily López Hernández, 31, was sent to the facility by Xcel Staffing Solutions and was cleaning around a machine that transports pizza crusts on a conveyor belt as they cool.
At the time of the accident in December 2022, the company was owned by an affiliate of Henry Crown and Co., a privately held firm that manages assets for the wealthy Crown family. Earlier this year, it was acquired by private equity firm Brynwood Partners. The Department of Labor investigated both Miracapo and Xcel for labor violations and referred the investigations to Homeland Security, as per the records obtained by The New York Times under the Biden administration's program involving immigrant workers.
When contacted for comment, Miracapo Pizza, Rana Meal Solutions, Xcel Staffing, Surge Staffing, Henry Crown and Co., Brynwood Partners, Walmart, Hunt Brothers Pizza, and Quest Nutrition did not respond or declined to comment. Sysco and Newman's Own stated that they take worker safety seriously and expect their suppliers to adhere to their codes of conduct. Sysco also stated that they would investigate the reports involving the Rich facility. Newman's Own clarified that they had not received any pizzas from Miracapo's Gurnee facility in the past year.
Dozens of temporary workers at multiple worksites shared their experiences with The New York Times, highlighting how complaints about safety were met with indifference, retaliation, or threats of dismissal. As many of these workers were in the country illegally, they were afraid to involve state or federal agencies. The systems in place for enforcing labor laws depend heavily on workers coming forward, creating a perverse incentive for companies to hire individuals who are unlikely to speak up. Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University, stated that undocumented immigrant workers play a vital role in the US economy, but are often not protected by laws that are meant to safeguard workers. Employers are aware of this, she added.
Stephen C. Dwyer, president of the American Staffing Association, acknowledged that there are some "bad actors" in the industry, but stated that the majority of staffing agencies are law-abiding and strive to treat their workers well. He also warned that staffing firms that continue to place workers in dangerous situations will face financial repercussions.
The process of making industrial pizzas involves the use of massive machines with sharp blades, fast-moving rollers, and needle-like pins. At the Rich facility in Crest Hill, Illinois, these machines required deep cleaning, which was usually done at night by temporary sanitation workers. These workers would scrape, soap, and scrub the machines to remove food debris. According to four former Rich employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity, this was a dangerous task, as the machines were not always shut down completely.
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