Muslim workers (150 union members) fired from JBS Swift plant; Cubans to replace

[Omaha Steve]

Source: THE GRAND ISLAND INDEPENDENT via Omaha World Herald

TRACY OVERSTREET AND HAROLD REUTTER
THE GRAND ISLAND INDEPENDENT

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - About 150 Muslim workers have been fired from a Grand Island meatpacking plant in a dispute over prayer, according to a Somali-American leader in Omaha.

Plant officials at the JBS Swift meatpacking plant are bringing in Cuban workers to replace them, according to a school official working with the meatpacker.

Mohamed Rage with the Omaha Somali-American Community Organization said 80 workers were fired after an altercation late Thursday. He said more were fired Friday afternoon as they arrived for their shift.


JBS Swift & Co. meat packing plant workers protest Thursday morning, Sept.18, 2008, as day shift workers congregate outside the plant after walking off the job. The workers are dissatisfied with a compromise reached Tuesday night between striking Somalian workers and Swift. Striking worker Veronica Yebra, center, said she and others allegedly threatened with dismissal by JBS Swift & Co. officials. The original protest began because Muslim workers said they weren't allowed enough time to pray.


A union representative at the plant said the employees were not fired but quit.


Read more: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10437910

[babylonsister]

1. So, the question is, were they fired or did they quit? nt

[amandabeech]

2. Cubans? n/t

[marshall]

3. They're probably atheists

If they in their thirties or foties they were raised before Cuba relaxed its policy on religion.
So on the bright side they won't be asking for time off to pray.

[sop]

9. You couldn't find that many Cubans in Omaha

[ohio2007]

15. "Omaha Steve" states otherwise

[cyndensco]

4. Boy, that is a confusing article...

Why is a school official a spokesperson for the meat company? Why Cubans?

If Swift indeed had problems with some Somalis being dissatisfied with prayer provisions and fired all their Somali employees as a result, I'd be REAL quick to boycott their product. This blanket swapping-Cubans-for-Somalis is curious though. Aren't there any Nebraskans looking for work in Grand Island?

[krkaufman]

8. Yeah, I'm a bit confused as to why the workers are referenced as homogenous groups

Why aren't "Nebraskans" being employed, and where are these other workers coming from? Sounds very suspicious, to me.

[DBoon]

5. Playing immigrant groups against teach other is an old capitalist trick

On hundred years ago, European immigrants from different communities were played against each other to forestall union organizing. It took great effort for the 1919 steel strike to overcome this.

[Regret My New Name]

6. Color me confused... Why cubans?

Why bring people in? WTF? Don't they have a local work force?

[pauldg0]

7. I smell a tactic by the Repuk executives to draw a response from Obama.....

...Obama is smart. Obama, I know if you choose your words closely, get some advise and see how this situation can blow-up in their fricken faces.

I see this hair trigger....they'll say, "See, Obama is a Muslim lover, Jesus hating Christian Hating anti-christ" and it will play to the stupid republican idiots that are all brainwashed with this dis-information....yes, the "stupid" party.

I would talk to the press and tell them this is a bait and hook tactic to make obama look bad. Obama's campaigners are the only people that should denounce this (just a second idea).

I also think that Obama has a good way with words......this is going to be interesting.

[IndianaGreen]

10. The article doesn't mention Cubans at all, and it is confusing

:eyes:

[Regret My New Name]

19. hah, it doesn't anymore... weird. It did though.

I clicked on the article to read if it made more sense, and it didn't... but it mention cubans before.

[IndianaGreen]

11. Tittle of article is "Company confirms firings of meatpackers"

Per LBN rules you are required to use the actual tittle of article, not write your own headline.

[Omaha Steve]

12. I used the Omaha World Herald headline following the rules

The original headline has changed since the post.

[IndianaGreen]

13. CNN and MSNBC are notorious for changing headlines and content

of their stories without letting the readers know that what was first reported was subsequently edited.

[Omaha Steve]

16. I should have said when the story was updated they changed the title too

The original story was way different than what it was just an hour or so later.

[ohio2007]

14. headline is wrong should be "Company confirms firings of meatpackers" and where is the Cuban spin?

actual text from your link;

Published Friday September 19, 2008
Company confirms firings of meat packers
TRACY OVERSTREET
THE GRAND ISLAND INDEPENDENT
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - Nearly 90 Muslims are no longer working at the JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plant here.

Dan Hoppes, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local No. 22, said Friday that about 50 to 80 Muslims had quit the night before. He said the matter stemmed from the recent debate over break time for prayer during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10437910

Counter protests by non-Muslim workers began Wednesday. They said the shift changes penalized them while favoring the Muslim workers.

Yes, the non muslims threatened to strike because the company was showing a bias. The majority still rules but, for how much longer ?

[High Plains]

17. Ooh, scary Muslims! Hope you're safe in Ohio.

[ohio2007]

18. you living in the high plains buy into the propaganda being sold by steve ?

just making an observation board mods approve of when bending LBN rules.

[Regret My New Name]

20. They actually changed the headline and article afterwards...

I find that really weird, but I know for a fact it said that because it was confusing as hell. I'm assuming someone passed along some sort of spinnage (lulz...sounds like spinach..ahem) and they just took it as it was, and later realized what they did.