{"id":1332,"date":"2025-05-01T21:29:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T21:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cdm.lebuinco.com\/?post_type=news&p=1332"},"modified":"2025-06-04T20:06:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T20:06:17","slug":"big-win-for-chicken-catchers","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/cdm.lebuinco.com\/es\/news\/big-win-for-chicken-catchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Win for Chicken Catchers!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cI could not stand the conditions all of us \u2014myself and my fellow co-workers\u2014 had to endure. We worked so much and got nothing in return. I knew I had to speak out and organize others to do so as well. I could never have imagined that we would achieve so much together. Now I feel like my chest is about to burst with joy\u201d<\/em>. \u2014 \u00c1ngel, chicken catcher in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Last year, a group of people working as chicken catchers decided enough was enough<\/strong>. Angel was one of them. They contacted us and we supported them in filing a complaint with the Department of Labor (DOL) to seek justice for the inhumane working conditions their employer put them through. And they won<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In honor of International Workers\u2019 Day I\u2019m thrilled to share with you their incredible story of resistance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Happy CDM and CATA staff members after a productive clinic with chicken catchers in Maryland<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Catching chickens is a grueling job. The hardest job they ever had by far, according to Angel. But workers endured the work because there\u2019s nothing they wouldn\u2019t do for their families and a chance of a better future. All they expected were decent working conditions and fair wages\u2014apparently, even that was too much to ask.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More often than not, the employer didn\u2019t pay workers for all the hours worked<\/strong>. They didn\u2019t provide vital protective gear and equipment like gloves and masks, which could be life-saving if poultry is infected with bird flu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newly recruited workers had it worse<\/strong>. The employer forced them to work as apprentices doing the same back-breaking work as everyone else, but without any pay at all<\/strong>. And they had to remain apprentices \u2014or palomeros\u2014 until another worker left the company, which meant many workers went without pay for months. While their employer refused to pay the apprentices a fair wage\u2014or any wage at all\u2014it was the fellow workers who stepped up. In a powerful act of solidarity, they pooled portions of their own earnings each week to ensure the apprentices had enough to put food on the table for themselves and their families.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The abuse ran deep in the poultry operation.<\/strong> But luckily, Angel contacted us and, with the help of El Comit\u00e9 de Apoyo a Los Trabajadores Agr\u00edcolas (CATA), Cohen Milstein, FarmSTAND and Public Justice Center<\/strong>, we were able to support him and his coworkers in filing a DOL complaint. After an exhaustive investigation, the company will pay over $650,000 in unpaid wages to 56 people who worked as chicken catchers<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angel and his co-workers have much to teach us about courage in uncertain times. Confronted with unimaginable abuse, they knew they had to take a stand<\/strong>\u2014even when so much was stacked against them and there was no guarantee their actions would make a difference. In doing so, they discovered the true power of collective action in the fight for justice and fairness.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This International Workers\u2019 Day, let\u2019s honor the courage of workers who dared to stand up for what\u2019s right. Will you join them in the fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right of every worker to speak out without fear?<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":1333,"template":"","class_list":["post-1332","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdm.lebuinco.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/1332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdm.lebuinco.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdm.lebuinco.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cdm.lebuinco.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdm.lebuinco.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}