Case Study. Oxfam Takes on Big Chicken

Between 2015 and 2017, Oxfam, the international social justice organization, waged a campaign against the US poultry industry to seek better wages, healthy and safe working conditions, and worker voice for poultry processing workers. These workers, predominantly women and almost all people of color, endured poverty-level wages, extremely high rates of injury and illness and a climate of intimidation that kept them quiet about abusive conditions. The campaign used research reports, shareholder resolutions, company engagement, buyer pressures, and consumer mobilizations to press the four largest poultry companies on these issues. This campaign experience had mixed success and offered several critical lessons about corporate campaigning.

Recommended Citation: Durr, Barbara. Oxfam Takes on Big Chicken. Keough School of Global Affairs Case Study Series. Notre Dame, IN: Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, 2024. https://doi.org/10.7274/25259749