Michael Grabell
ProPublica
New York, NY, United States
Contact Michael
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Michael:
USDA Plans Major Reforms to Curb Salmonella in Poultry
An earlier ProPublica investigation showed that weak food safety protections have done little to stop Americans from getting sick from salmonella poisoning. → Read More
The meatpacking industry’s conspiracy to keep plants open during COVID-19
As hundreds of meatpacking workers fell sick from the coronavirus that was spreading through their plants and into their communities in April 2020, the CEO of Tyson Foods reached out to the head of another major meatpacker, Smithfield Foods, with a proposal. → Read More
Your Free-Range Organic Chicken May Have Been Processed at a Large Industrial Poultry Plant
To help us make sense of the opaque poultry supply chain, hundreds of ProPublica readers sent in details about their chickens and turkeys. Here’s what we learned. → Read More
America’s Food Safety System Failed to Stop a Salmonella Epidemic. It’s Still Making People Sick.
For years, a dangerous salmonella strain has sickened thousands and continues to spread through the chicken industry. The USDA knows about it. So do the companies. And yet, contaminated meat continues to be sold to consumers. → Read More
As COVID-19 Ravaged This Iowa City, Officials Discovered Meatpacking Executives Were the Ones in Charge
Meatpacking was once a path to the middle class in Waterloo, where workers led the fight for civil rights. But by the time the pandemic hit, a transformed industry had assembled a workforce from the most vulnerable parts of the world. The stage had been set. → Read More
Emails Reveal Chaos as Meatpacking Companies Fought Health Agencies Over COVID-19 Outbreaks in Their Plants —
Thousands of pages of documents obtained by ProPublica show how quickly public health agencies were overwhelmed by meatpacking cases. One CEO described social distancing as “a nicety that makes sense only for people with laptops.” → Read More
What Happened When Health Officials Wanted to Close a Meatpacking…
New documents obtained by ProPublica show public health officials in Grand Island, Nebraska, wanted the JBS meatpacking plant closed. But Gov. Pete Ricketts said no. Since then, cases have skyrocketed. → Read More
Millions of Essential Workers Are Being Left Out of COVID-19…
Even as the federal worker-safety agency has been inundated with complaints, it has rolled back safety standards and virtually eliminated non-health care workplaces from government protection. → Read More
What Happens If Workers Cutting Up the Nation’s Meat Get Sick?
As meatpackers rush to meet demand, their employees are starting to get COVID-19. But some workers say they’re going to work ill because they don’t have paid sick days and can be penalized for staying home. → Read More
What Happens If Workers Cutting Up the Nation’s Meat Get Sick? —
As meatpackers rush to meet demand, their employees are starting to get COVID-19. But some workers say they’re going to work ill because they don’t have paid sick days and can be penalized for staying home. → Read More
Workers’ Compensation Benefits: How Much is a Limb Worth?
NOTE: Compensation for the loss of certain body parts is only one part of a larger system. States may be more or less generous in other aspects of their workers' comp benefits. SOURCES: ProPublica research of state workers’ compensation laws. See the full methodology for details. Data last updated Feb 27, 2015. Additional research by Abbie Nehring. → Read More
Pediatrician Who Treated Immigrant Children Describes Pattern of Lapses in Medical Care in Shelters —
How prepared is the Trump administration for an influx of unaccompanied minors at the border? A new complaint shows shelters in New Jersey were already failing to respond when kids got hurt or sick. → Read More
In Immigrant Children’s Shelters, Sexual Assault Cases Are Open and Shut —
Across the country, kids are reporting sexual assaults in immigrant children’s shelters. Alex decided to come forward. He told the shelter two older teens dragged him into a bedroom. There was surveillance video. But Alex's case wasn't investigated. His isn’t the only one. → Read More
Threatened Shutdown of Failing Immigrant Children Shelters Could Cause a Crisis
Despite its numerous failures in keeping the children it's housing safe, an Arizona facility may keep its federal funding due to a lack of other options. → Read More
'Humanitarian crisis' looms as Arizona threatens to revoke immigrant children shelter licenses
Arizona health officials threatened to revoke the licenses of 13 federally funded immigrant children shelters, accusing the facilities' operator of n "astonishingly flippant attitude" toward the state's child protection laws, ProPublica reports. → Read More
Worker Charged With Sexually Molesting Eight Children at Immigrant Shelter
The allegations against the Southwest Key youth care worker are the latest in a series of serious accusations of sexual abuse inside the government’s immigrant youth shelters. → Read More
Immigrant Youth Shelters: “If You’re a Predator, It’s a Gold Mine”
We obtained police reports and call logs from more than two-thirds of the shelters housing immigrant children. Here’s what they show. → Read More
Trump vowed to punish companies that moved jobs overseas. Is Congress rewarding them?
Despite President Donald Trump’s crackdown on foreign trade, Congress is about to waive tariffs for companies to import products they once made in the U.S., ProPublica reports. → Read More
Tax Breaks for Products That Were Once Made in America
President Trump has vocally opposed companies that relocate overseas. But Congress could soon make it easier on them to import goods. → Read More
Stopping the Deportation of Immigrants Injured on the Job
Florida is proposing new legislation to stop insurance companies from reporting undocumented people to immigration authorities in order to avoid paying medical bills. → Read More