SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Tyson Foods, a Springdale-based meat processing company, has voted against a proposal that would investigate potential child labor practices within the company.
The meeting was on Feb. 8, during Tyson's Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
Kate B. Quinn was newly elected to the company's board of directors, and shareholders reelected all 13 incumbent directors, which includes (but is not limited to) current CEO of Tyson Donnie King, former Tyson CEO and grandson of the company's founder, John Tyson, and former governor Mike Beebe.
Board of Directors for Tyson:
- John H. Tyson
- Les R. Baledge
- Mike Beebe
- Maria Claudia Borras
- David J. Bronczek
- Mikel A. Durham
- Donnie King
- Jonathan D. Mariner
- Kevin M. McNamara
- Cheryl S. Miller
- Jeffrey K. Schomburger
- Barbara A. Tyson
- Noel White
There were proposals covering corporate climate lobbying, corporate labor practices, deforestation-free supply chains, and a circular economy for packaging, all were voted down.
In the proposal that would have assessed Tyson's effectiveness in preventing illegal child labor, a recent Department of Labor (DOL) investigation was cited, which found six children employed by the sanitation contractor used by Tyson to clean the processing plant in Green Forest.
A year ago in February 2023, Packers Sanitation Services paid $1.5 million after the DOL's investigation across 13 meat processing plants in eight states, two of those plants being in Arkansas— one a Tyson-owned plant where six children worked, and the second plant owned by George's, where the investigation identified one illegally employed child.
The proposal says illegal child labor is a systemic issue in meatpacking companies and that Tyson's current policies and strategies "have failed to meaningfully address" child exploitation. Continued failure to combat child labor, the proposal insists, "exposes Tyson and its investors to financial, legal, regulatory, and reputational risks."
In Tyson's statement following the shareholders meeting, the company called the proposal a "corporate labor practice" proposal. Which, noted by Investor Advocates for Social Justice, leaves out "any reference to child labor."
The Board said in its opposition statement against the child labor proposal, that most of what's in it would be "duplicative and unnecessary," because Tyson "has already taken several steps to guard against illegal child labor in its supply chain."
The opposition statement argues that Tyson's Board recognizes the need to continually evolve its practices and that it now has specified additional training for anyone in charge of recruiting, hiring, or vetting prospective employees on child labor compliance.
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