EEOC Rules in Muslims' Neb. Plant Issue

This is an update to last years Swift Plant story. If you are wondering why things are quite there this year, here is your answer.

"But he said the company has tried to accommodate workers, including by giving them space and time for prayer. Cashen said they've tried to educate non-Muslims about Muslim observances."

Advocates: EEOC rules in Muslims' Neb. plant issue
By JEAN ORTIZ

OMAHA, Neb. — Muslim advocates said Friday that federal officials determined a Nebraska meatpacking plant wasn't doing enough to accommodate the religious needs of its Muslim workers but stopped short of laying out specific recommendations.

The Chicago-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission outlined its decision in a letter sent to the organization this week. The decision comes after a nearly yearlong investigation into conditions at the Grand Island JBS plant, where hundreds of Muslim workers walked out in protest last September because they weren't given time to pray.

"It's a favorable finding ... it's definitely a victory," said Rima Kapitan, an employment attorney who worked on the case for the council.

SNIP

Jill Cashen, a spokeswoman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, said discussions have already been successful and hopes the letter doesn't set them back.

"We believe we've built important bridges across the various work forces over the past year," she said.

Union officials said the plant employs about 2,700 non-management workers. About 250 Muslims currently work at the plant, down from about 500 the union said worked there last fall.

JBS spokesman Chandler Keys declined to say whether the company was considering rehiring workers who were fired after the walkout. But he said the company has tried to accommodate workers, including by giving them space and time for prayer. Cashen said they've tried to educate non-Muslims about Muslim observances.

Keys and Cashen said they believe the changes and ongoing discussion have helped, judging by the lack of reported problems now that Ramadan is under way.

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Muslims get the Last Laugh at Swift Plant

This appears to be what is the final follow up on the story of the Muslims at Swift Plant who demanded extra break times to pray for the month of Ramadan. After a back and forth struggle which saw about 100 Muslims being fired, Swift will be paying the Muslims hundreds of thousands of dollars. They were even fined for having Muslims sign a contract saying that they would be willing to handle pork, which is considered haraam in Islam or forbidden. So now we see that employers cannot even defend themselves in advance by asking Muslims if they will handle pork. For more on the hazards of hiring Muslims go here.

Minnesota Plant That Fired Muslims for Taking Prayer Breaks Will Pay $365,000
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

MINNEAPOLIS — Under a settlement to a federal lawsuit, up to 100 Somali Muslims who are current or former workers at Gold'n Plump Inc. will receive a total of $365,000.

The settlement was filed in Minneapolis on Friday. It sprang from allegations of religious discrimination at the company's chicken processing plants in Cold Spring and Arcadia, Wis.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed lawsuits against St. Cloud-based Gold'n Plump and the Work Connection Inc., an employment agency in St. Paul, which handled some hiring for the plant.

Under the settlement, Gold'n Plump agreed to pay $215,000 to workers who were terminated for taking prayer breaks.

The Work Connection will pay $150,000 to workers who were asked to sign a form acknowledging that they might be required to handle pork, which many Muslims consider unclean.

The EEOC estimates that 40 to 100 workers will qualify for the payments.

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Non-Muslims Walk out of Swift Plant!!

Yesterday I reported that Swift Plant had caved into the demands of the Muslims who work there. Now the details of of the deal have come out. All non-Muslims have had their hours cut and were told that they can make up the time by coming in on Saturdays!! Obviously the non-Muslims at Swift have had enough and have staged their own walkout. Where are the all the "moderate" Muslims protesting against the Muslims at Swift, telling them not to impose on others? As I have said in the past, Muslims do not care about anyone else and that is why I call for an end to Muslim immigration. If they want to live under Islamic rules they need to stay in Islamic countries.

Compromise with Muslims on prayer cuts hours for all at Swift plant

By Tracy Overstreet
The Grand Island Independent
Posted Sep 17, 2008 @ 10:51 PM

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GRAND ISLAND — A compromise reached to accommodate prayer for about 500 Somalian meatpacking plant workers in Grand Island led to a counter protest of even more workers at the JBS Swift & Co. plant Wednesday.

Workers including Caucasians, Hispanics, Vietnamese, and African-Americans walked out after clocking in on the B shift shortly after 3 p.m.

The objection -- a change in the break schedule that leaves B shift workers shorted of hours Monday through Friday and forces them to work Saturday to earn at least 40 hours of pay.

"The Somalians say they can only work three hours after sunset, so we're supposed to work 7.3 hours a day Monday through Friday," said Naomi Jakubowski. "We're supposed to come in and make up the time on Saturday or be shorted at just 36 hours."

"I don't want to sacrifice my Saturdays with my kids -- and I can't raise 'em on 36 hours of pay," she said. "I've got rent, food and diapers to buy."

Dan Hoppes, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local No. 22, announced the compromise Wednesday morning.

He said the half-hour evening supper break on B shift will begin at 7:45 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. starting Wednesday and continue until the end of Ramadan on Oct. 1. The supper break will be taken en masse, he said.

The change was reached Tuesday night after negotiations between two local Swift officials, five designated Muslim leaders and three representatives of the UFCW, which represents 2,500 Swift workers, 500 of whom are Muslim.

"This will give them time to pray and satisfy their faith," Hoppes said.

But the B shift workers counterprotesting Wednesday said besides a change in the dinner break schedule, the standard 15-minute break during the 6 o'clock hour of B shift was broken into three 5-minute-long breaks to accommodate the Somalian prayer time.

Bernadino Orellana said the Hispanic workers have staffed the Swift plant for 20 to 30 years. The Somalian workers have come in the last year and changed everything -- Swift management has given in to the minority, she said.

"Nobody should have special privileges," shouted B shift protester Tina Ramirez. "Treat everybody fairly."

Counterprotesters raised objections Wednesday to a pay raise they say the Somalians were given and were bragging about Tuesday and Wednesday.

But "everybody is losing money" when the plant isn't operating, said Swift Human Resources spokeswoman Mary Chmelka.

She exited on the plant's north side, stood on the metal staircase and addressed a crowd of about 400 fabrication and trim line workers an hour after they walked off their lines.

"Go back to work … get a representative of your culture to come to a meeting at 2 p.m. (Thursday)," she said as the crowd booed.

About a half hour later, Plant Manager Dennis Sydow, Operations Manager Mike Helzer and a plant owner from corporate headquarters in Greeley, Colo., stepped out to address the crowd.

More booing was heard and no workers made an effort to return to the line.

Reports were that more protesting was occurring inside on the kill and slaughter lines, but calls to the corporate office were not returned.

The counterprotesters finally broke up and marched from the Swift parking lot to Grand Island City Hall at about 6 p.m. The Muslim protesters had also staged a demonstration at Grand Island City Hall both Monday and Tuesday.

Hoppes said the compromise meeting on Tuesday came about after 500 Muslim workers walked off the job Monday in protest of not receiving prayer time during the 30-day holy period of Ramadan during the work shift.

Those workers are of Somalian and Sudanese background, he said. A similar protest occurred again Tuesday, with about 50 Muslim protesters.

The primary concern was for the evening prayer time, which signifies the end of a dawn-to-dusk fast.

Hoppes said other break times during the shift were adequate to address additional prayer times, but he said nothing of the 15-minute break being divided into three smaller break times.

Swift supervisors were to apologize to Muslim workers who were accused of taking too long on those breaks, which some had used for prayer, Hoppes said. An accounting of the break time taken was conducted and Hoppes said the company and union found no violations.

Hoppes said Muslim workers who did not show up for work, walked out of work, or did not notify supervisors of not coming to work will have a disciplinary letter placed in their personnel file.

"They will not be fired, but if it happens again they could be terminated," Hoppes said Wednesday.

The disciplinary letter was viewed by those protesting Wednesday as too light of a punishment.

"If we did that, we'd be fired," said Ramirez.

Hoppes said the union is continuing to investigate allegations that some praying workers were kicked by a supervisor and that a male supervisor followed a female worker into a bathroom as she attempted to pray. He said witnesses to those events have not surfaced and Swift is denying either incident happened.

Ramirez said Wednesday that the Somalians come late, leave early and take frequent breaks and "drop all the time" in prayer right in front of people, so people are literally tripping over their bodies.

"They don't do the work and we have to work double," she said. "It's not fair."

Hoppes had heard the rumors of a counterprotest early Wednesday, but hoped it wouldn't happen.

"I don't think there will be any problems, but there's always some people who aren't completely satisfied … and there may be a glitch or two," Hoppes said. "Really, the only change is the supper break going from 8 p.m. to 7:45 p.m."

B shift workers said the plant has been hampered by the protests this week. Normally, about 400 head of cattle are processed every hour, but that was down to about 220 to 260 an hour this week.

"Everyone has rights. Be equal. Be fair," a protester sign stated in the Swift parking lot Wednesday night.

"We all have religion," Ramirez said.

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