The Men of Atalissa
The Men of Atalissa is a 2014 documentary by POV.org and The New York Times. It tells the story of 32 men with intellectual disabilities who worked for Henry’s Turkey Service in Atalissa, Iowa, for more than 30 years starting in the 1970s. They did meat processing, earned about $65 a month, and lived in an old schoolhouse in poor conditions. The abuse and poor living conditions were exposed in 2009, leading to a $240 million jury verdict that was later reduced to about $50,000 per person. The film uses court records and company documents and includes interviews with seven of the men.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:50 (CET).