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National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice Leads Religious Communities in Support of Poultry Workers By: William Bole September, 2002 The religious campaign on behalf of poultry workers began in 1996, the year the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice was founded, in Chicago. Prodded by clergy as well as labor leaders, the Clinton administration conducted two investigations of the industry.      The second one, in 2000, found that 100 percent of the poultry plants investigated failed to pay workers for all the hours worked. At more than a third of the plants, workers had money illegally deducted from their paychecks for the protective gear, according to that study.      Meantime, the interfaith committee drafted worker-rights manuals in English and Spanish and distributed thousands of bulletin inserts to congregations located near poultry plants.      At the start of the Bush administration, religious advocates found a less receptive ear in Washington. An open letter signed by 150 religious leaders brought no reply from the Department of Labor. Then, clergy and lay activists began delivering copies of the letter, in groups, to department field offices around the country.      That caught the attention of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, who met with a delegation of 25 religious leaders in June of last year. A year later, the Bush administration announced its tough stance against the poultry industry's alleged violations of federal wage-and-hour laws.      "We were able to politely keep up the pressure on DOL," said Leone Bicchieri of the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, using the department's acronym. "But they weren't dragged kicking and screaming into this. They had a lot of things on their plate."      Richard Lobb of the National Chicken Council in Washington said there was "no question" that religious activist groups played the key role initially in getting the government to probe the poultry practices. He added, "It's taken on a life of its own, at this point."   Papal Social Encyclicals     Other Catholic Social Teachings General Articles of Interest   Catholic Worker ConnectionMsgr. George Higgins  Home PageE-Mail: Fr. Sinclair Oubre