Sanderson Farms has announced an across-the-board pay raise for its hourly workers for the third consecutive year.
The poultry company's announcement did not specify the size of the pay raise. It stated that under the new pay scale, line operators will earn at least $16.70 an hour; maintenance employees, from $20.85 to $29.77 an hour; and truck drivers, from $21.25 to $24.99 an hour. Sanderson Farms has about 17,000 employees in five states.
"Sanderson Farms has always taken pride in employing the best people the workforce has to offer," CEO Lampkin Butts said in a statement. "This is something that has never changed, and never will."
A pending deal would merge Sanderson Farms into the Wayne Farms unit of Continental Grain, in a partnership with Cargill. The deal is undergoing a vote by Sanderson shareholders and must pass antitrust scrutiny from federal regulators.
