The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against some of the largest poultry producers in the United States and a data consulting firm and its president, claiming a long-running conspiracy to exchange information about wages and benefits for poultry processing plant workers.
The department filed proposed consent decrees with defendants Cargill Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, Sanderson Farms Inc. and Wayne Farms LLC., as well as Webber, Meng, Sahl and Company (WMS) and its President, G. Jonathan Meng.
The DOJ alleges that two of the poultry processors violated the Packers and Stockyards Act by engaging in deceptive practices associated with the “tournament system,” which pits chicken growers against each other to determine their compensation.
“Through a brazen scheme to exchange wage and benefit information, these poultry processors stifled competition and harmed a generation of plant workers who face demanding and sometimes dangerous conditions to earn a living,” said Doha Mekki, principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
“Today’s action puts companies and individuals on notice: the Antitrust Division will use all of its available legal authorities to address anticompetitive conduct that harms consumers, workers, farmers and other American producers.”
Previously, nearly one in four business leaders were not making any changes to pay in response to inflation, according to a report...
Stelson Campaign Manager Alma Baker: “This individual is not and has never been employed by the Janelle Stelson campaign.” Washington, D.C. – New reporting from American Journal News reveals that ...