CBS’ 60 Minutes is the latest media to report on Blackstone’s child labor violations

PESP contributed to a CBS 60 Minutes segment on Blackstone’s child labor at its meatpacking plants. 

CBS 60 Minutes, May 7, 2023: From stakeouts to warrants: How federal investigators found more than 100 children cleaning slaughterhouses

60 Minutes talked with a 17-year DOL investigator who found that “There is no way this was just a mistake, a clerical error, a handful of rouge individuals getting through. This was the standard operating procedure. 

“There were minors employed across the country between the ages of 13 and 17 working the overnight shift. 

“They were, they were little. They looked young.”

The investigator “believed children were washing bloody floors and razor-sharp machines with scalding water and powerful chemicals.”

According to 60 Minutes, “For all the years the investigation found child labor, PSSI has been owned by Wall Street’s Blackstone–the largest private equity firm in the world.”

Blackstone told 60 Minutes that “extensive pre-investment due diligence showed PSSI had industry-leading hiring compliance…” Yet 60 Minutes observed that “diligence failed to find what was obvious to investigators watching a shift change in a parking lot.” 

Blackstone also said that “a claim of insufficient diligence or oversight is simply false.” 60 Minutes noted that “102 children labored at 13 slaughterhouses in eight states.” 

Additionally, the DOL investigator said she did not believe at all that 102 was the full extent. “I believe that the number is likely much higher.”

Watch the full segment here.