"Any changes could be a problem for other workers because supervisors at the plant determine breaks within allotted times, not the workers themselves."
An update on this story. "Swift offers partial accommodation for Muslim prayers," by Oskar Garcia for the Associated Press:
OMAHA — Meatpacking plant officials accused of discriminating against dozens of Somali Muslim workers have offered to tweak break times to help accommodate the workers’ prayer demands.
If the dozens of Muslim workers and Swift & Co. can agree on details, a solution could defuse the dispute that started earlier this year when 120 workers at the Grand Island plant abruptly quit because they weren’t allowed to pray at sunset.
Many say they were fired, quit or were verbally and physically harassed over the issue, and some have complained to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about the way they were treated.
In a letter to lawyers representing the workers, Swift said it could eliminate some breaktime conflicts, and offered to negotiate more scheduling flexibility with the union to allow more prayer time if the workers agreed to the proposal.
Advocates for the workers said Thursday that they were encouraged by the proposal, but said they would not accept a solution that did not accommodate the prayers for the whole year.
“We’ll continue negotiations with the company and hopefully we’ll come out with a solution that everybody can deal with,” said Rima Kapitan, a lawyer for the Council on American-Islamic Relations who is representing the workers in the dispute. “We’re certainly not going to accept their proposals at their face.”
The five to 10-minute prayer, known as the maghrib, must be done within a 45-minute window around sunset, according to Muslim rules. Workers at the Grand Island plant say they quit, were fired or were verbally harassed over the issue.
[...]
But a lawyer for Swift said in a letter it would be possible to make prayer accommodations for most, but not all of the entire year. The Council on American-Islamic Relations provided a copy of the letter to The Associated Press.
“Swift concludes that it can potentially accommodate the maghrib prayer under the existing labor agreement, except on the following dates: Feb. 15 through March 8 (commencement of Daylight Savings Time), and May 23 through Aug. 1,” Swift attorney Donald Selzer wrote in the letter dated Aug. 20.
The company also offered to go to union representatives to negotiate lengthening the dinner break window if the workers agreed to the proposal. Lengthening the window would mean fewer days when prayers could not be accommodated, Swift said.
But the president of the local United Food and Commercial Workers Union said Thursday that changing the breaks might not be feasible for other workers in the plant.
“I don’t know that I can agree to that because I have 1,700 other people to worry about,” said Dan Hoppes, Local 22 union president. “I have to look and see what they’ve got in mind.”
Any changes could be a problem for other workers because supervisors at the plant determine breaks within allotted times, not the workers themselves.
Hoppes said he wouldn’t have a problem if the company allowed individual workers to take breaks.
“But that’s simply not the case,” Hoppes said. “That’s the problem with the breaks is they have to be uniform.”
'.....started earlier this year when 120 workers at the Grand Island plant abruptly quit because they weren’t allowed to pray at sunset."
......surprizingly, plant production increased by 8%"......
They could always go back to Somalia and work there so they can pray at will.
The assimilation of the west into Islam continues unabated.
You have that right kaosktrl. We are assimilating into a foreign culture that is immgrating to OUR shores. Sick
This is a blatant example of Muslims injecting their religion into the workplace. Frankly, I'm surprised Swift would accomodate their demands, since accomodating these 120 employees will affect the entire workforce at that plant.
It would be interesting to see the actual complaints with the allegations of verbal and physical threats and intimidations.
If such verbal assaults consisted of,"If I catch you praying on the job again when you're supposed to be working, you're fired," then, to a reasonable person, it would seem that the company was within its rights.
The allegation of physical threats seems more serious, but since we don't have the specifics, I'm skeptical.
And, why is Swift so determined to keep these employees? It would seem that our current default on enforcing our immigration laws would swell the pool of job candidates well beyond this group of religious zealots determined to hold production hostage to their obsessive religious rituals.
Gee, do you think they're packin' pork at that Swift plant?
"And, why is Swift so determined to keep these employees? "
...muslim threats of plant sabotage.....
Oh, I'd love to be a CAIR'd-for Muslim whiner!
That is what I'd truly love to be-e-ee.
Cause if I were a CAIR'd-for Muslim whiner,
Everyone would capitulate to me!
Oh, Shy Guy -
You don't comment all the time, but when you do you sure are funny!
LOL!
People, I e-mailed Swift & Co (corporate ofc is in Greeley, CO, according to their website), and said that my husband and I had read about the "prayer" accomodation to the Mohammedan workers in Omaha. Accordingly, we won't be buying any more Swift products.
I also said, "Stop the Islamization of America. Let them go back to their crappy Islamic countries and they can pray to "allah" all they want when they want. They accomodate US, we don't accomodate THEM."
I ended with, "Hmmm...Hormel is a good brand, isn't it?" (LOL!)
I do mean this - we're not going to buy any more Swift products. And we love barbecuing!!!! Hormel it is!
I urge JW's to e-mail Swift & Co. with your thoughts.
Good idea darcy. Let our voices be heard
Yes, Elric - Voices, Voices, Voices. As the old adage goes, "Silence implies consent."
"Accordingly, we won't be buying any more Swift products."
Add Mr.Ape Pig to the list of boycotters
Well, Mr Ape Pig - please e-mail Swift and let them know about your boycotting.
“We’ll continue negotiations with the company and hopefully we’ll come out with a solution that everybody can deal with,” said Rima Kapitan, a lawyer for the Council on American-Islamic Relations who is representing the workers in the dispute. “We’re certainly not going to accept their proposals at their face.”
-- from the article above
Listen to this lawyer for CAIR: "We're certainly not going to accept their proposals at their face." The arrogance, the aggression, in every word.
A few things to remember:
Swift is a private company, not part of the government. Those who would easily wave about the "free exercise" clause do not mention that fact. Furthermore, it has explained, most patiently, the reasons why a workplace such as Swift cannot simply stop production lines several times a day in order to allow Muslim workers to prostrate themselves Meccatropically on the no-doubt gory floor, and then have to perform not Muslim ablutions (those come before) but post-prayer Occupationial-Safety mandated ablutions, which take precedence. If Muslims in Infidel lands cannot accomodate themselves to this, they become enraged at the Infidels for daring to have their own Infidel ways, and for taking so long to change those ways to accommodate the Muslims.
One may be surprised by the aggressiveness and unstoppability -- if turned down, they will keep coming, and coming, and coming, at you -- of these demands. No one should be. Study Islam, study what Muslims are taught to think of non-Muslims and of their beliefs, how they are taught to regard the Lands still under Infidel rule, where everything that gets in the way of the spread of Islam (and not giving time off, no matter what, for the five canonical prayers every day, and supplying prayer rooms and possibly rugs in order to make things easier, at work, in school, everywhere, is considered an "obstacle to Islam.") Infidels do not understand that essentially, in the Muslim view, anything at all that gets in the way of Islam, and its practice, and its spread, is an act of agression against the True Faith, and therefore Muslims are theologically entitled to act accordingly against that "aggression." Keep this firmly in mind, and the behavior and speech and demands of Muslims, as in the Swift case, or as with a case that may come up in the neighborhood school, or at your place of work, will not surprise you. It will not surprise you, just the way Ayaan Hirsi Ali said that she was not "surprised," knowing the texts, tenets, attitudes of Islam with which she had been smothered since birth, at what had happened.
Don't be surprised. Don't be surprised at the attempt, at times quite successful, to force Infidels, in their own lands, into the psychological self-effacement and debasement and appeasement of Muslims that naturally accompanies, that grows out of, the status of being a dhimmi. The attempt here is to impose the attitude, even before the circumstances permit the actual imposition of such a status.
An extraordinary development, that needs to be understood. And so few are taking the time to understand, though there is nothing difficult about coming to such an understanding.
Is it allowed to post their e-mail addy? It is public.
Dozens of muslims armed with meat cleavers...I'd hate to work at Swift.
Could we please bring those Mexicans back?
"Don't be surprised. Don't be surprised at the attempt, at times quite successful, to force Infidels, in their own lands, into the psychological self-effacement and debasement and appeasement of Muslims that naturally accompanies, that grows out of, the status of being a dhimmi. The attempt here is to impose the attitude, even before the circumstances permit the actual imposition of such a status. ""
.....just another reason we need to start Banning Muslim Immigration...
.....this paragraph should be tattooed on any politicians arm when he/she is elected......
Muslims apply for jobs at Swift knowing the hours of operation and what is expected of them. They knowingly break the employment contract with this bullshit. No need to negotiate any further.
As for boycotting Swift. Why does Swift consider pandering to the muslim community? Clearly, any devout muslim is not likely to be one of their regular customers. Whose interest would Swift be serving? Alienating an existing customer base is not in their best interest. A private enterprise pandering to a so called civil rights organization, aka un-indicted co-conspirator CAIR is utter foolishness. OSHA and Dept. of Health should also be supporting this UNION with ensuring the safety and sanitary aspects of this business are not tampered with in the name of cultural diversity.
After reading Hugh's comment, and the quote from the Mohammedan female lawyer for CAIR in Chicago, I also e-mailed CAIR/Chicago with a few of my thoughts.
I wish we could have a huge protest rally, or something. I want my Judeo-Christian country back!
Does this plant deal with halah meat? Does this plant process pork? Is this next on the agenda?
People - really mean it. Do not buy any Swift products.
http://www.swiftbrands.com/contact/index.php
There are no restrictions for prayer times in Mecca.
Time for these obstructionists to go back to the hive and rotate.
"...said Dan Hoppes, Local 22 union president. “I have to look and see what they’ve got in mind.”
....you might want to look and see what they've got in the trunk of their cars....
Profitsbeard:
Good Point. There are work-arounds built into islamic law by Allah. For instance, if a muslim is in the middle of beheading, kidnapping, rape (the list is endless), Allah through his ideal man allows prayer times to be unrestricted.
Such a highly prioritized cult. Those Pakistani apes out in the street rioting all day long just pull a quintuple prayer shift after they've returned to their hovels and beaten their wives.
I won't be buying anymore Swift products. Just sent the following email:
emailus@Swiftbrands.com
With your special treatment and accommodation of Muslim’s in the workplace, I won’t be buying anymore Swift products.
When was the last time you gave special treatment and/or accommodations to Jews and/or Christians?
Thanks but no thanks to Swift products and their dhimmi management.
Darcy,
Done. Here's what I said:
I've heard about your 'prayer' accommodation, and am thoroughly disgusted that you are willing to accommodate a select few at the expense of the rest of your staff. I know about your strict break requirements, and adjusting these rules for a small percentage will only embolden those to demand more from you. Even your employee's union head doesn't think this is a good idea. How can your company even entertain this notion?
If you are not aware of the tenets of Islam and Sharia, then I advise you to become familiar with them before you offer anything. Then, and only then, will you understand why I say this will be only the beginning of their demands.
As you most likely think this accommodation is a small 'price' to pay for your troubles, be aware that I will no longer purchase your products if you go ahead with this decision. I cannot buy from companies that suffer from 'Dhimmitude-initis'. I value freedom too much, and I will not suffer Dhimmitudes in this country!
Please - Stop the Islamization of America. Tell them they can go to some Islamic country that allows them to pray during work hours. As immigrants, they assimilate to US, not the other way around.
Give them an inch and they will take 100 miles or more. Next, separate break rooms, so the Somali men don't have to sit next to infidel women co-workers or male co-workers who have brought a pepperoni pizza or a ham sandwich for supper. When will the demand for foot washes in the Swift Company restrooms be rolled out? It would also be interesting to know what these same sanctimonious Somalis have demanded of the local public schools where their children attend..halal meals, accomodations for their children's prayer times, no art work for any child that depicts a human figure (like the school in MN). Jobs are very hard to come by in rural Midwestern towns. Why doesn't Swift Company recruit at some of the small town high schools in Nebraska and give some graduates a chance at a steady job and a future? Let the Somalis migrate to Saudi Arabia, where they can pray all the time when they aren't being slaves for their Arab masters.
Thats right. How can they pray without their footbaths? You hear that Swift? Might as well call a plumber, its coming.
I sent Swift Foods an email
Dear Sirs:
regarding
"OMAHA — Meatpacking plant officials accused of discriminating against dozens of Somali Muslim workers have offered to tweak break times to help accommodate the workers’ prayer demands.
If the dozens of Muslim workers and Swift & Co. can agree on details, a solution could defuse the dispute that started earlier this year when 120 workers at the Grand Island plant abruptly quit because they weren’t allowed to pray at sunset."
You are accomodating a workforce who are not committed to the values of America, and who WILL NOT EAT the products they produce for infidels they hold in contempt.
Think about it.
we do not have to sit still for the islamization of America
why does Swift think these muslims will not intentionally tamper with the food products
they are not halal
the muslims preparing this food will not eat it
I will not buy it
Nebraska is a big beef producer and exporter. From what I have seen in the plant, Swift-Grand Island does not process pigs/pork. This 120 saboteurs may be a shift involved in the production of "halal" beef. I don't know about this specific plant, but I have heard that in general meat packers hire all-muslim shifts to produce "halal" for export to the middle east. I find it abominable, that we can not find markets in the normal world and have to bend ourselves to hiring terrorists in order to export to countries which will eat all their camels and goats in a week if there are no imports. In any case it is a perversion to display such a servitude in the Heartland of America towards people who wish USA nothing but death and suffering. Where have all the cowboys gone?
Swift products have swiftly been banned from my refrigerator. Just the fact that muslims are working there is enough to put me off, but I do realize that it is a free country and the company has a right to hire and fire whom they choose. I also have a right to buy from whom I choose. I will be sending an email to them as well to that effect.
Ban muslim immigration now and support muslim emmigration!
I wonder if these meatpackers will appease the current batch of cheap foreign labor to the point of wishing they had never broken the unions.
Shakey_Premise:
These people are in a union. The union bosses are dhimmis.
I sure hope NASA doesn't hire any muslims. Gosh, just imagine a space shuttle launch or moonwalk being scheduled around prayer breaks.
When were these people hired? Yesterday? This is just another provocation, like flying imams, serial ferry boat riders, etc., designed to get in the face of Americans.
And again, yet once more...Earth to American companies: STOP HIRING MUSLIMS!!!
maryrose -When will the demand for foot washes in the Swift Company restrooms be rolled out?
Originally,
I was unaware of the 'halal' ( Swift Grand Island) beef exports, which would help explain the pandering from a financial viewpoint. Keep in mind, Swift & Co took a financial hit with the 12/06 ICE immigration sweep.
A quick search implies the halal market appears a recent development from this dated article ('05):
http://www.zabihah.com/comp_news_entry.php?entry_id=28
This undated list shows Swift and Company as well as others that are approved for halal imports to Egypt. . .
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ofo/export/legypt.htm
If what excommie stated above is accurate . ..
then how likely is it that all these meat processors yield for similar segregated employee privileges? This company is chosing to do business in the muslim market, in which case some of the accomodations are business related.
It's not clear in the original report whether the Somali's who walked off the job were part of a crew specifically hired for halal production.
If, however, these Somalis were hired and accepted jobs on the general production line, then tough petunias.
In the future, American businesses would be well advised to learn from Swift & Company's mistakes in doing business with a customer base that will prove to be difficult to please even under the best of circumstances. IMHO, It's simply not worth it.
......surprizingly, plant production increased by 8%"......
Posted by: exsgtbrown
Shyt.. yer making me laff.. now I veel like vun of zose Monty Pyzon Chermans...
And you're probaly RIGHT at the same time..
Today, Saturday, August 25th, 2007, here in small town Indiana:
A good, old-fashioned pig-roast. Slaughtered and prepared in the good, old American fashion.
And lots of firewater!
A guaranteed method of having a good time, and keeping it Jihad-free.
God Bless America!
OMAHA — Meatpacking plant officials accused of discriminating against dozens of Somali Muslim workers have offered to tweak break times to help accommodate the workers’ prayer demands.
Get these Muslim,s out of our Meatpacking plant's..before they poison our food or taint it to a degree we get sick from somehting. (Before you know it..there be another recall...geez!)
Dang dumb American's who hire them!!!
Those were good e-mails!
I hope others do the same.