David Obey: “the list of violations by that company is stunning. They failed to properly guard machines. They failed to lock up…”

“the list of violations by that company is stunning. They failed to properly guard machines. They failed to lock up dangerous equipment when not in use. They failed to provide respiratory protection for workers. They failed to provide protective clothing. DeCoster's workers were shipped in from south Texas and stranded in inhuman conditions. They were forced to live with sewers that were so backed up that they had to discard their used toilet paper in a trash can. They were given a chance by OSHA to comply voluntarily, and they misused and abused that chance, and that is why OSHA had to come in with enforcement actions. Mr. Chairman, I would like to read just three paragraphs from a newspaper article entitled, ``A Shameful Legacy.'' It reads as follows: The transgressions for this company date back nearly a decade when the Federal Government fined him in 1988 for 184 workplace violations, including hiring illegal aliens. Last year, OSHA inspectors found immigrant workers living in cockroach- and rat-infested housing and forced to work in hazardous settings. The violations included having workers handle chicken waste with their bare hands. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich called DeCoster's operation ``* * * as dangerous and oppressive as any sweatshop I've ever seen.'' Now, it just seems to me that the responsible thing for this Congress to do is exactly what the committee has done.…”