Nebraska plant tells Muslims prayer needs can't be met
Posted: Friday, September 19, 2008
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) -- Managers at a Nebraska meatpacking plant told Muslim employees Thursday that shift changes made to meet their prayer demands would be ended.
The move came after counterprotests by white, Hispanic, Vietnamese and African-American workers, who said the shift changes at the JBS Swift & Co. plant penalized them while favoring the Muslim workers.
The Muslim employees -- who are mostly Somali immigrants -- have been told and reacted calmly, said a union leader.
About 300 Muslim employees walked off the job on Monday, saying they weren't allowed to pray during their holiest month, Ramadan, which occurs in September this year.
Management agreed Tuesday to shift the break times in response, which created counterprotests on Wednesday and Thursday.
The tension appeared calmed by Thursday evening, but a union leader couldn't guarantee it would stay that way.
"Over the last two days I've been optimistic four or five times and that didn't work out real well," said Dan Hoppes, president of Local 22 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
Company officials have not returned repeated calls from The Associated Press, including a message left Thursday.
About 250 workers walked off the job early Thursday, but many workers returned to their posts out of concern they could lose their jobs, said Melissa Infante, who works the early shift.
The early shift was operating with about 700 workers, Hoppes said. Normally 1,200 cover it.
Another crowd gathered later Thursday before the start of the second shift. More than 300 milled around the plant's employee entrance, though there was no organized picket line.
A small group of protesters briefly chanted "Si se puede" -- a Spanish rally cry that translates to "Yes, it can be done."
The crowd eventually was asked inside to meet with supervisors who assured them the break times were back at normal and that no one got paid for the days they walked off the job, Hoppes said.
Nearly all of the 1,200 on that second shift were working, as of early evening, Hoppes said.
Negotiations will continue, said Hoppes, who said the details of any disciplinary action needed to be worked out.
Despite rumors circulating Thursday, no one had yet been fired as a result of the protests, he said.
More than 100 workers at a Greeley, Colo., Swift plant were fired last week because the company said they walked away from work before their shifts ended. Those workers also blamed the company's refusal to allow their breaks to coincide with sunset so they could pray.
The move came after counterprotests by white, Hispanic, Vietnamese and African-American workers, who said the shift changes at the JBS Swift & Co. plant penalized them while favoring the Muslim workers.
The Muslim employees -- who are mostly Somali immigrants -- have been told and reacted calmly, said a union leader.
About 300 Muslim employees walked off the job on Monday, saying they weren't allowed to pray during their holiest month, Ramadan, which occurs in September this year.
Management agreed Tuesday to shift the break times in response, which created counterprotests on Wednesday and Thursday.
The tension appeared calmed by Thursday evening, but a union leader couldn't guarantee it would stay that way.
"Over the last two days I've been optimistic four or five times and that didn't work out real well," said Dan Hoppes, president of Local 22 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
Company officials have not returned repeated calls from The Associated Press, including a message left Thursday.
About 250 workers walked off the job early Thursday, but many workers returned to their posts out of concern they could lose their jobs, said Melissa Infante, who works the early shift.
The early shift was operating with about 700 workers, Hoppes said. Normally 1,200 cover it.
Another crowd gathered later Thursday before the start of the second shift. More than 300 milled around the plant's employee entrance, though there was no organized picket line.
A small group of protesters briefly chanted "Si se puede" -- a Spanish rally cry that translates to "Yes, it can be done."
The crowd eventually was asked inside to meet with supervisors who assured them the break times were back at normal and that no one got paid for the days they walked off the job, Hoppes said.
Nearly all of the 1,200 on that second shift were working, as of early evening, Hoppes said.
Negotiations will continue, said Hoppes, who said the details of any disciplinary action needed to be worked out.
Despite rumors circulating Thursday, no one had yet been fired as a result of the protests, he said.
More than 100 workers at a Greeley, Colo., Swift plant were fired last week because the company said they walked away from work before their shifts ended. Those workers also blamed the company's refusal to allow their breaks to coincide with sunset so they could pray.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 4 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
william riley wrote on Sep 20, 2008 11:40 AM:
sandy wrote on Sep 19, 2008 5:07 PM:
mrb wrote on Sep 19, 2008 4:46 PM:
RT wrote on Sep 19, 2008 9:21 AM: