Workers Bring Justice At Smithfield Campaign To Shareholders Meeting

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/4077

Workers Bring Justice At Smithfield Campaign To Shareholders Meeting

By Doug Cunningham

: “Contract! What do we want? Contract!”

Workers at the Tarheel, North Carolina Smithfield hog processing plant Wednesday took their campaign for justice at Smithfield to the company’s shareholder meeting. Smithfield worker and United Food and Commercial Workers union organizer Keith Ludlum says working conditions are horrendous and the company uses a variety of union busting tactics with no respect for workers rights.

: “The profits their making is blood money off the backs of workers that are being killed and maimed. The workers have to work under horrendous conditions. They process 15 – 17,000 hogs every eight hours. Many of them have to work while injured or have disabilities because they’re afraid of losing their jobs. There have been many workers that have been fired for reporting injuries.”

Edward Morrison was injured “flipping hogs" at Smithfield.

: “I used to turn hogs – what they call flippin’ ‘em. I’d flip about 4,000 in an eight-hour shift. What the people of the country need to know is that workers are being disrespected, injured, fired for no apparent reason at all.”

More information is available at smithfieldjustice.com.


AUDIO feed third story: http://www.laborradio.org/files/lo/winsheadlines.ram

[Union Thug]

1. I am so happy to see labor beginning to step it up again..

Labor has been so beaten down over the years since RayGun escalated the war on the working class that it is refreshing to see even a relatively polite action like this sneaking out. But I don't think labor is going to get very far without becoming increasingly radicalized, and willing to drop any pretense of 'partnerships' with management. This has always been a class war and it always will be.

[struggle4progress]

2. Hundreds protest Smithfield meeting

BY PATRICK LYNCH
Daily Press
August 30, 2006, 2:31 PM EDT

RICHMOND -- More than 300 protestors rallied outside of Smithfield Foods' annual shareholder meeting here Wednesday afternoon, calling for fair union elections at the pork processor's massive Tar Heel, N.C.

The group, rallied by religious leaders and officials with the United Food and Commercial Workers union, also plans to have several people who own Smithfield stock speak on their behalf at the company's meeting, being held at the Jefferson Hotel.

The union has tried twice unsuccessfully to organize at the nearly 6,000-worker Smithfield Packing Co. plant in Tar Heel, which the company calls the world's largest hog processing plant. But the National Labor Relations Board has also ruled that company officials worked to disrupt union elections and intimidate union supporters.

Smithfield Packing recently said it would drop its appeal of the labor board ruling and would support a third vote on a union ...

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-smfdonline.au31,0,7011213.story?coll=dp-news-local-final