State AGs, Lobbyists Join Battle Over Pork Processing Line Speed

Seven state attorneys general and industry lobbyists will weigh in on a labor union’s federal lawsuit seeking to block the USDA’s line-speed regulation for pork processing plants.

The attorneys general of California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia—all of whom are Democrats—on Tuesday gained Minneapolis U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen‘s permission to submit briefs in support of the union’s motion for summary judgment in its challenge to the U.S. Department of Agriculture rule adopted last year.

Ericksen, in the same order, granted permission to the North American Meat Institute and the National Pork Producers Council to file ...