Chicken Farmers in Alabama Receive Their First Payout in a $35 Million Settlement
Alabama chicken farmers have notched their first victories in a closely watched federal price-fixing lawsuit, as two of the chicken industry’s biggest companies — Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms — agreed to a $35 million settlement.
Led by Alabama farmers, the lawsuit was filed in federal court in Oklahoma and names as defendants the country’s top chicken producers — Tyson, Perdue, Pilgrim’s Pride, Koch Foods and Sanderson Farms. The lawsuit alleges that the companies conspired to fix wages and rig a system that unfairly benefitted the companies while suppressing the earnings of family farmers.
Farmers in the lawsuit said they earned as little as $12,000 per year, as they worked 16- and 18-hour days, even as company profits soared to more than $1 billion annually for some of the companies.
