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| Olde Tyme Religion |
| Update: At least 100 Swift workers let go |
| 2008-09-11 |
| About 100 Muslim workers at the north Greeley JBS Swift & Co. plant were let go Wednesday afternoon. About 15 Greeley police officers were called to the scene by a Swift security guard as part of the termination. The security guard told police one terminated Swift worker had tried to hit him. No arrests were made. The worker was escorted off the premises and police remained on the scene for peace keeping purposes. The workers appeared to be all African. The termination appears to be related to the walkout of Muslim employees on Friday. The workers left their jobs Friday night after they were told they would not be given a break to observe the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Swift issued a statement via e-mail Friday evening about the terminations. The statement said the workers were let go as a result of the Ramadan-related work stoppage last week."For the past week, JBS management has met with union leadership and local Muslim leaders to address the timing of our second shift lunch break. As a result of those discussions we adjusted the lunch period by over one hour earlier to address their concerns. On Friday many employees walked off of the job without proper authorization," the statement read. According to the statement, this action resulted in a number of workers being suspended. "A majority of the suspended employees returned to work last night and those that did not were notified this afternoon of their termination," according to the statement. The statement also said Swift works closely with employees and their union representatives to accommodate religious practices. Some East African workers say Swift officials initially agreed to move the break time, but then changed their minds and would not let them break their Ramadan fast at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #7 muzzies handling pork...nah! |
| Posted by: Phinegum Pelosi6759 2008-09-11 22:29 |
| #6 Being a butcher was once a noble profession, often involving and employing an entire family, sometimes for a couple of generations. Skinnier and skinnier profit margins, driven by the mega producers like Swift, flipped the price where a local butcher was paying more per lb.for "wholecows" than the prices on finished goods from the big boys. It was a Walmartization of an industry but it took place outside the view of many Americans. You local butcher shop is now simply a boutique market. |
| Posted by: Capsu 78 2008-09-11 18:39 |
| #5 Slaughterhouse work is tough. Many (probably most) large plants in the country are having trouble finding workers at prevailing wages ($6 to $10/hour to start and about 30% better than that with experience). What the market clearing wage rate would be so that non citizens would take the job is anyone's guess but probably at least twice prevailing rates. |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-09-11 13:31 |
| #4 But many of the workers who gathered at a Greeley park Tuesday expressed their dissatisfaction with negotiations by saying, “No prayer, no work.” Oh, look. You were right... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-09-11 12:22 |
| #3 Ahem. Let's not condemn an entire group on the basis of the acts of some. As the article notes, some of the employees returned to work, some didn't. We're not about group identity here at the Burg. Let Kos do that. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-09-11 12:15 |
| #2 I understand your concern Woozle Elmeter 2700, but just remember that pork from these packing plants is still safe. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2008-09-11 12:15 |
| #1 If you haven't seen pictures of this crowd, go to the Denver Post. It is scary. As I said, if these meat plants can't employ American workers at union wages, they should be shut down. Not only do they not benefit the communities they operate in, they are highly destructive. Once you see these goat herders, you won't be eager to bite into anything they've handled. I am fortunate that I can get meat from a local butcher shop. There's no way I would eat anything from over the counter any longer. I would rather be forced into vegetarianism. Yuck. These bastards have no place in our society. None. Thanks very much Hill & Bill. You two shitbombs. |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter 2700 2008-09-11 11:33 |