Fired Somali workers observe Ramadan as leaders prepare for future action

Fired workers from JBS Swift & Co. stayed at home and observed the Ramadan fast with family and friends on Friday as Somali community leaders organized their constituents for possible legal action.

Several organizations, including Somali Aid, the Colorado Muslim Council, the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition as well as faith and labor leaders, joined on Friday in condemning the firing of more than 100 Somali workers on Tuesday for not showing up to work at the JBS Swift plant, according to a release.

Local leaders prepared to hold a meeting today, however, to advise the workers on how to proceed. No Somali workers visited the local unemployment office on Friday as originally planned, according to Graen Isse, spokesperson for the local Somali community; such actions could happen on Monday.

Meanwhile, an investigation continues concerning threatening fliers that were distributed in the plant’s cafeteria on Wednesday night that appeared to show people in a protest with signs reading “Behead those who insult Islam.”

Isse vehemently denied that anyone in the Somali community was behind the fliers. Tamara Smid, spokeswoman for JBS Swift, said in an e-mail that “we did find inappropriate material Wednesday night -- it was immediately confiscated.”

Nothing has been found since, Smid said, and while the company does not comment on internal investigations, she said that JBS Swift “in no way condones these types of things; we promote a best work environment atmosphere and in the event something like this were to happen, those employees would be disciplined accordingly.”

What’s next?

A meeting for the fired Somali workers will take place at 3 p.m. today at the Union Colony Civic Center, 701 10th Ave. in Greeley.

See more on this Topic