By Chris Casey
A roiling labor dispute over the observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and assembly-line operations shifted from a Greeley meatpacking plant to one in Grand Island, Neb., as more workers protested break times.
Five hundred Muslim workers walked off the job Monday at the JBS Swift & Co. plant in Nebraska after they say they were denied time to pray.
The walkout follows a similar action at the JBS Swift plant in Greeley on Sept. 5, when roughly 300 workers walked off the job. That led to the firings of about 120 workers.
Graen Isse, one of the workers fired in Greeley for what the company called an unauthorized walkout during their shift, said he was saddened by the Grand Island news.
Tamara Smid, a JBS Swift spokeswoman, issued a short statement regarding the Grand Island situation via e-mail Tuesday afternoon. She said company officials began meeting with union leaders last Friday along with Muslim leaders to address the timing of the plant's second- shift lunch break.
"We are continuing to meet with the parties to reach a resolution that is acceptable to all parties involved," Smid said in the statement. "Our hope is that we can strike a balance between a reasonable accommodation of their requests and our operational requirements."
Smid said the company on Tuesday received "some grievance notices" from leaders of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 in regard to the terminated workers at the Greeley plant. Read more ...
A roiling labor dispute over the observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and assembly-line operations shifted from a Greeley meatpacking plant to one in Grand Island, Neb., as more workers protested break times.
Five hundred Muslim workers walked off the job Monday at the JBS Swift & Co. plant in Nebraska after they say they were denied time to pray.
The walkout follows a similar action at the JBS Swift plant in Greeley on Sept. 5, when roughly 300 workers walked off the job. That led to the firings of about 120 workers.
Graen Isse, one of the workers fired in Greeley for what the company called an unauthorized walkout during their shift, said he was saddened by the Grand Island news.
Tamara Smid, a JBS Swift spokeswoman, issued a short statement regarding the Grand Island situation via e-mail Tuesday afternoon. She said company officials began meeting with union leaders last Friday along with Muslim leaders to address the timing of the plant's second- shift lunch break.
"We are continuing to meet with the parties to reach a resolution that is acceptable to all parties involved," Smid said in the statement. "Our hope is that we can strike a balance between a reasonable accommodation of their requests and our operational requirements."
Smid said the company on Tuesday received "some grievance notices" from leaders of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 in regard to the terminated workers at the Greeley plant. Read more ...
Source: Greeley Tribune
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