from the DENVER POST:

Muslim Swift workers sacked after walkout
By David Migoya
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 09/11/2008 12:16:56 AM MDT

More than 100 Muslim workers were fired from a Greeley slaughterhouse Wednesday after refusing to report for work a day earlier in protest of the company's refusal to allow a prayer break during the work shift.

Another 120 workers — most of them Somalis — broke ranks with the protesters, went back to work Tuesday and kept their jobs, JBS Swift & Co. officials said in a statement.

"This action is a direct violation of our collective-bargaining agreement," Swift said of the walkout in a statement. "Employees were told . . . failure to report to work when recalled would result in their immediate termination."

Affected workers said they are seeking legal advice and hope to speak with city officials today to see what they could do.

"There were no negotiations (Wednesday), nothing," said Ahmed Mohamud, a spokesman for the workers and one of those fired Wednesday. "I honestly thought we'd work this out. We were fired because we pray."

Officials with United Commercial Food Workers Local 7, which represents the plant employees, said it was unclear how many fired workers might not be protected by the contract because they lacked enough time at the plant.

The union is expected to file grievances over the firings, spokesman Manny Gonzales said.

The walkout began Friday night when nearly 400 employees stormed from the Swift packing house over management's refusal to allow them a prayer break at sundown, a ritual necessity of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

About 250 were suspended for walking off the job without permission, company officials said. The month-long holiday began Sept. 1 and is marked by a daily fast from dawn until dusk and requires a prayer to culminate the fasting.

Workers complained that bathrooms were locked and water fountains were shut off when they tried to pray and break their fast Friday. Swift officials have not commented on the allegations.

Managers at the plant, where nearly 2,000 employees slaughter about 400 cattle each hour, on Tuesday agreed to allow all workers a 30-minute meal break at 8 p.m. each evening — an hour earlier than normal — to accommodate the Muslim workers' need for prayer.

The Muslim workers refused to accept the offer, saying day-end prayers during Ramadan strictly adhere to the sunset, which varies each day.

The workers also insisted on translators for many of the non-English-speaking employees, many of whom emigrated from Somalia only a few months ago. Managers said they would look into the request, Mohamud said.

Non-Muslim workers have complained that the prayer breaks left them handling the workload while the Muslims worshiped, Mohamud said.

"There have been some problems with the Mexican workers, yes," he said.

A similar incident occurred at a Swift plant in July 2007. Somali workers at the company's plant in Grand Island, Neb., said they were harassed or fired for attempting to pray at sunset, part of the daily prayers required of Muslims. Three workers were fired for walking off production lines without permission.

On Tuesday, a Minnesota poultry processor announced it had reached an agreement with Muslim employees over a nearly identical situation, where workers insisted on accommodation for the Islamic prayer schedule. The company, Gold'n Plump, agreed to allow all workers — Muslim and non-Muslim — a 10-minute break in the work shift. However, employees will not be allowed to walk off the line for prayer any time they wish, the company said in a statement.

The settlement was reached after a year-long investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of nine Somali workers at Gold'n Plump's plants in Cold Spring and Arcadia, Wis.

The settlement could have far-reaching implications for companies that hire Muslims who adhere to traditional religious practices, which include five prayers daily and garb that could be deemed dangerous on some production lines, said St. Paul attorney Joe Snodgrass, who represented the workers.

David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com

denver & the west
Swift fires 100 Muslim workers
By David Migoya
The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 09/10/2008 10:09:55 PM MDT

More than 100 Muslim workers were fired from a Greeley slaughterhouse today after refusing to report for work a day earlier in protest of the company's refusal to allow a prayer break during the work shift.

Another 120 workers — most of them Somalis — broke ranks with the protesters, went back to work Tuesday and kept their jobs, JBS Swift & Co. officials said in a statement.

"This action is a direct violation of our collective-bargaining agreement," Swift said of the walkout in a statement. "Employees were told failure to report to work when recalled would result in their immediate termination."

Affected workers said they are seeking legal advice and hope to speak with city officials Thursday to see what they could do.

business
Swift, Muslim workers still at impasse
By David Migoya
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 09/09/2008 08:33:32 PM MDT

Muslim workers at a Greeley slaughterhouse on Tuesday said their bosses made no concessions to employee requests for prayer time and face a longer walkout as a result.

Nearly 400 workers, mostly Somalis, walked off the job late Friday at the JBS Swift & Co. packing plant when they were denied prayer time at the end of their daily fast for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.

The month-long holiday, which began Sept. 1, requires daily fasts from dawn to sundown.

Employee Ahmed Mohamud said a three-hour meeting with plant managers Tuesday yielded no new concessions to employee requests to break at sundown to take food and water and pray.

"We will not go back to work until this is resolved," Mohamud said.

About 40 Muslim employees returned to work Tuesday night, he said.

But hundreds more — many threatened with the loss of their jobs if they refused to return — would remain home, Mohamud said.

At the meeting, Swift officials said employees could take a regular 30-minute break at 8 p.m., Mohamud said. Sundown on Tuesday was at 7:19 p.m.

Company officials could not be reached late Tuesday.

muslims walk
Prayer tiff at Swift plant
Workers stay home after being denied break time at dusk to eat, drink and pray.
By David Migoya
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 09/09/2008 12:11:47 AM MDT

Nearly 400 Muslim workers who walked off the job Friday night at a Greeley slaughterhouse stayed home Monday to protest the denial of time to pray when their religious fasting ends during the workday.

Officials of the union that represents the workers, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, met with managers at JBS Swift & Co. on Monday over accommodations for the workers, mostly Somalis, who say they have not been allowed to break for food, water and prayer when religious fasting in observance of Ramadan ends each day, UFCW spokesman Manny Gonzales said.

The workers stayed home Monday while negotiations continued, employee Ahmed Mohamud said.

"They're working with us," Mohamud said of Swift managers, noting that a resolution is expected today.

Company officials would acknowledge in a prepared statement only that an undisclosed number of workers walked out Friday night and that Swift was trying to make accommodations for the workers' religious practices.

The employees walked off Friday night after they were told to keep working rather than break to end their daily fast, employees said. They said bathrooms were locked and water fountains shut off.

"They're upset with their prayer time, and we're filing appropriate grievances to be sure their needs are being met," Gonzales said of the workers.

The fast occurs daily during the Muslim holiday Ramadan, which began Sept. 1 and runs from dawn to sunset for a month. Fasting is meant to teach practitioners patience, humility and sacrifice.

The 12-hour fast ends at about midshift, when workers are processing hundreds of head of cattle each hour at the Greeley facility, one of the nation's largest cattle plants.

A similar incident occurred at a Swift plant in July 2007. Somali workers at the company's plant in Grand Island, Neb., said they were harassed or fired for attempting to pray at sunset, part of the daily prayers required of Muslims. Three workers were fired for walking off production lines without permission.

Worker Omar Clarke, 24, said workers in Greeley weren't getting the proper number of breaks each shift — including one at 7:15 p.m., at about sunset.

"After meeting with the big bosses today, we learned about the proper breaks," he said. "If we properly get the breaks, there is no problem. We'd be back at work on time."

Workers say they initially had been allowed to break at sundown for food and water, but that changed Friday after complaints from non-Muslim employees who said they were forced to continue working while the Muslims were allowed the break, Clarke said.

Federal law requires companies to accommodate workers' religious preferences when possible.

David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com

(from GangBox)