Hertz has tried to make reasonable accommodations, including a prayer room. As a Hertz spokesman explained, "this issue arose when breaks for prayers were extended for unacceptably long periods beyond 10 minutes for nonreligious activities."
In that regard, the refusal to compromise gives the appearance that this case is ultimately about putting prayer breaks and the amount of paid time taken for them beyond the oversight of supervisors, in a way that would not be afforded to non-Muslim workers.
"Hertz fires 25 Muslim drivers who refuse to clock out," by Lornet Turnbull for the Seattle Times, October 20:
Hertz has sent termination letters to 25 drivers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after they refused to agree to clock out for daily breaks, during which they normally pray.
The workers — all Somali Muslims who drive the company's rental cars to and from the airport for cleaning and refueling — were among 34 Hertz employees suspended Sept. 30 for failing to clock out before breaks.
The rental-car company at the time said some of the workers were taking longer than the 10 minutes allowed. The workers usually take two paid breaks during a regular eight-hour shift.
Nine of the 34 suspended drivers signed the agreement and have returned to their jobs, the company said.
Officials with Teamsters Local 117, which represents the workers, said the two sides had tried to negotiate an agreement that would have allowed the workers to return to their pre-suspension status, under which they wouldn't have to clock out to pray.
But they were unable to agree.
Paul Zilly, spokesman for the union, said the workers were given an ultimatum to sign the document to clock out.
"They were debating, going back and forth," he said. "They all felt it was a contractual violation." He said that if Hertz believed certain employees were abusing the break policies, then it should have dealt with them individually, rather than penalizing an entire group.
"There may have been some taking longer than 10 minutes, but why single out the entire group based on their religion?"
A Hertz spokesman said many of the workers had been with the company for 15 years, and Hertz went out of its way to accommodate all of them, setting up a prayer room at the airport site.
The company had made it clear to the suspended workers that if they wanted to be reinstated they needed to agree to the clock-out conditions by the end of the day Thursday, said spokesman Rich Broome.
"We're disappointed that the rest of the transporters did not take us up on what we thought was a reasonable resolution of this matter — reserving their right to pray during paid breaks," Broome said.
"We felt clocking out is a fair way to maintain order while keeping our operations running smoothly."
The Teamsters represents about 79 Hertz drivers who earn between $9.15 and $9.95 an hour. Most are Muslim.
All company employees are allowed two paid 10-minute breaks during an eight-hour shift — time they can use however they choose.
The Teamsters said the requirement for workers to clock out for that break is not in the contact and the firm had agreed during negotiations last year it would not require it.
The union said the company implemented a unilateral change on the day it suspended the drivers without first negotiating with the union, a contractual violation.
The union has filed grievances against Hertz with the National Labor Relations Board and said it's filing religious discrimination charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Broome said the company and the workers had reached an EEOC settlement two years ago, in which workers agreed they would clock out for their two breaks.
The company had been informing workers that they needed to clock out for some time before finally posting a notice to that effect on the day they were suspended.
Those who clocked out on that day were not suspended, the company said.
This is exactly what is needed to halt Islam: Say 'No' to the special demands, whatever form they take. Muslims living according to all their rules are not practical in a modern society, and might well be better off in the deserts they came from.
I am sure cair will be calling hertz any minute.
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Yay - they fired 'em! Hertz - we just might use your service now!
Can anyone find an e-mail addy for Hertz?
I'd hold your breath until the lawsuit comes. Wait to see if Hertz capitulates to their demands by saying it would cost more to defend against said lawsuit.
Good for Hertz!! Stay strong on your decision.
I can't believe that Hertz provided a place for them to pray, no job I've ever had provided me with a facility to pray (some didn't even provide a place to eat), and I bet it was just for the muslims too.
To all you muslims out there, you had it good, hopfully the next job will not be as accomadating. You should have punched out as requested, what did you win? Nothing! No one said you couldn't pray.
I hope this teaches you a lesson, you are fools. There are alot of people out of work, unemployment sucks. Tell your family members to eat and need less.
"Teamster," sorry I don't agree with you on this one. Send over some "good Americans" to do the job without complaint.
That reminds me - I need to renew my Herz Gold Club membership. Now I'll do it gladly!
It seems like everywhere Moslems go they end up in disputes.
It also seems like, based on the reportage they receive, that the this pattern is caused by America's inability to accommodate the rich diversity that only Islamic culture brings.
I have no doubt Hertz will cave. They will have the muslim groups jumping down their throats, the unions, the obama administration's (socialist) labor relations board and the obama administration's EEOC. That is a perfect storm no business entity will be able to resist. The slackers will be hired back with retro pay, and will probably get a raise for their trouble by the time the parties listed above get through with them.
Where's those athiest groups with their "freedom from religion" protests when we need them? One would think they'd be decrying the muslims getting an extra work break for prayer when the non-muslims only get the allotted time.
Duly noted that the Teamsters backed the Moslems and not the other employees that have to take up the slack for malingering employees while they rotely recite "prayers" in Arabic calling for the destruction of Jews and Christians.
Say what you will about Jimmy Hoffa, but I read his autobiography, and I'm certain he would have told these Somalians to get rational or get the hell out of America.
dear marisol,
i must indeed keep a watchful eye on my comments as *some* parts might be misconstrued as 'inflamatory'...
but... (and these are just a few random links i googled, and i am sure you are knowledgeable of these facts...)
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/jewref.html
http://israelseen.com/2010/11/14/expulsion-of-the-jews-from-muslim-countries-1920-1970/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_exodus_from_Arab_and_Muslim_countries
shouldn't seditious behaviour be punished?
isn't sharia a seditious entity to a free nation?
is prevention not worth a pound of cure?
...just askin'
I suggest that Hertz set about filling those 25 empty seats with NON-MUSLIMS - whether native-born non-Muslim Americans, or with *non-Muslim* new immigrants such as Copts or Sikhs - as soon as possible.
Then sit back and enjoy the peace of mind which comes from knowing that your workers are *working* instead of skiving off at every chance they get.
"There may have been some taking longer than 10 minutes, but why single out the entire group based on their religion?"
Errrrrrrrrrrrr.... Maybe because it's the only group doing this, you moron ?
HERTZ IS BACK IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT!
Let's hope it stays that way.
Just once I would love to see any muslinm get so upset about our freedoms in the West that they hold a press Meeting with CAIR's FibBrahim Hooper to say they are leaving on the next plane for a Utopic islamic nation run by Shariah law with no gays, jews, feminists, black Africans,infidels or unbelivers in general.
BUT NO, they fleee those hell-holes for Welfare in the West to shame Allah and Muhammed that they are no safe in muslim nations, the men bring their pedophilia and misogyny with them and demand Special Rights to be allowed the beat females or kill them for the dishonour they bring by acting like Westerners.
The best way to deal with male muslim immigrants is to have lesbian Immigration Officers deal with them and just wait for the muslim to blow his top of spit of the lesbian.
Case closed, Ahed and his homophobic/misogynistic/pedophilia tenets hop on the next plane back to his hell-hole .
The video eviodence of the interview can be public so everyone can see exactly what useless $hit has been imported from iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia or Somalia.
Since 9/11 lots of people tried to accept the view by muslims that the mass-slaughter had NOTHING to do with islam or muslims in general, BUT.....the jig is up and taqqiyah no longer works on me and I hope Rosie,Cooper,and Ellen now see what a USA would be for Homosexuals.
Rosie is pretty stupid if she still holds her view that a Moron from texas was the mastermind behing 9/11 because she thinks that steel have never melted from heat in the history on man.
How the hell did she think the steel was made??????, did it just fall from the sky in the 18th century and formed railway tracks by accident, but maybe she's a evolutionist that belives the sand transformed over time into train tracks.
Hertz is greater!
Hertz-ahu Ahhhhhhkbarrrrr!
Hetz Uh Akbar!
https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/abouthertz/index.jsp?targetPage=investorrelations.jsp
Hertz knows how to run a successful business. The Muslim employees know how to be primitive selfish failures. Not a good combination! Good for Hertz!
When hardworking.and loyal workers,other than Muslims are awailable in plenty,what is the reason for selecting all Muslims for workforce? Now who is suffering? Time and again they are proving they are not work conscious people,lazy to the core,and quarrelsome.Atleast nowon,employers use their common sense while recruiting people for jobs.