Have you ever heard of the Hamlet chicken processing plant fire?

[hedgehog]

It doesn't have quite the ring of the Triangle Fire, but says a lot about how blase this nation has become:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_chicken_processing_plant_fire

[Brickbat]

1. Well, you know, once the fines were paid, everything was all taken care of.

After all, that's all the law required, right?

[slackmaster]

2. Yes, I remember it well.

Very tragic and completely unnecessary.

[hedgehog]

3. We remember the Triangle fire because it became a rallying point

for organized labor. The fire in Hamlet got 38 seconds on the nightly news.

[anneboleyn]

4. Just like the Triangle fire, most victims were women. The workers are always the first

to die in these situations.

[FiveGoodMen]

5. I remember the reports, yes.

I was outraged that those responsible were never really punished.

Business As Usual.

[H2O Man]

6. Yes, I definitely did.

Recommended.

Thanks for posting this. It's an extremely important chapter in the tragic history of laborers without protections.

[Bozita]

7. Exit doors were locked to prevent the employee theft of chicken parts

[krispos42]

8. Sounds bad, but I bet it smelled delicious

:hide:



The owners got 20-year prison terms, which is a welcome change from the status quo

[FiveGoodMen]

10. Well, sort of...

"Prosecution of the owners Emmett J. Roe, owner of Imperial Foods Products Inc.; his son Brad, who was operations manager for the company; and plant manager James N. Hair all surrendered to face prosecution on March 13, 1992, and were charged with non-negligent manslaughter. There was no trial. Instead on September 15, 1992, owner Roe senior pleaded guilty to 25 counts of involuntary manslaughter while his son and another man went free as part of a plea bargain. It was Roe senior who had personally ordered the doors to be locked from the outside. He received a prison sentence of 19 years and 11 months. The sentence is unpopular among many of the workers and their families who point out that it amounts to less than a year for each dead person. Roe first became eligible for parole in March 1994, and was released just under four years into his sentence."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_chicken_processing_plant_fire

Admittedly, that's more justice than I was aware of...

But it's not much.

[krispos42]

14. Yeah, there is that.

Corporate murderers get much lighter sentences than people murders. :-(

[Brickbat]

11. Because yeah, burning people smell so tasty.

:eyes:

[krispos42]

15. Well,thanks for being deliberately obtuse there n/t

[wryter2000]

9. I do

I was astonished at the time that no one made a parallel to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

[WinkyDink]

12. As a matter of fact, yes. I remember clearly my reading about the locked doors.

[OHdem10]

13. It was covered on TV at the time, bu when bothe parties have

have abandoned the working class and the Democratic
Party has essentially become Republican Light, not
too much rucus gets raised.