UFCW reaches agreement with Smithfield Foods

[Omaha Steve]

Dear friends and supporters,

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union has reached an agreement with Smithfield Foods, and this December, workers at Smithfield’s Tar Heel, North Carolina, plant will have the chance to vote in what we believe will be a fair election.

On behalf of all of us at the UFCW, we would like to thank you for your tremendous show of support for the Tar Heel workers through the years.

Here is the official joint statement we issued last Monday:

Joint statement of Smithfield and UFCW

The parties have reached a settlement of the lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division. The essential elements of the settlement are as follows:

1. Smithfield and the UFCW have agreed on what both parties believe to be a fair election process by which the employees at Smithfield’s Tar Heel plant can choose whether or not to be represented by the UFCW.

2. Smithfield and the UFCW have agreed to establish a Feed the Hungry Program to be jointly funded and administered by the UFCW and Smithfield.

3. The UFCW agrees to end its public campaign against Smithfield.

4. The parties have agreed there shall be no further public statement about this settlement until the election referenced in paragraph one above has been concluded.


We are pleased with this agreement, and the workers in the plant are very much looking forward to a vote. At this point, and in keeping with our agreement with Smithfield, we ask that you join us in suspending any Justice@Smithfield related activities.


Thank you for your support. As we move toward an election, you can learn more at www.ufcw.org.