Two things concerning about 120 workers fired Wednesday by JBS Swift & Co. -- unemployment benefits and potential JBS Swift action to address their grievances -- were static Monday as discussions continued between Muslim leaders and union representatives.
Kaise Egal, a leader of the Muslim workers, said Monday a few of the fired workers have left the state seeking work elsewhere, but most remain in Greeley.
Over the weekend, more than 100 of the terminated workers met in Greeley with an attorney for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7. He told them that in preparation for legal action, they need to document how and when they were fired.
“Most people, they just want their job back and to get their religious rights and anything that’s discriminatory (at JBS Swift) to stop,” Egal said.
A main concern for the workers is getting translators to help them file unemployment claims. Egal said some fired workers and their representatives met Monday with Fernando Rodriquez, leader of the union at JBS Swift.
“Basically, we asked his assistance in helping people to fill unemployment (claims) and also to file hardship benefits through the union,” Egal said. “He said he’s going to do that in the next three or four days.”
Rodriquez and another union spokesman did not immediately return calls Monday seeking comment.
Union officials have said they will contest the firings on grounds that JBS Swift did not give the workers sufficient notice that firings were imminent. The union also disputes the company’s assertion that the walkout constituted a work stoppage.
JBS Swift management said the employees were fired because they violated the union contract by walking off the job the evening of Sept. 5 without authorization.
The workers claim they were trying to break for post-fasting prayers at roughly 7:30 p.m. in accordance with an agreement made with the company. Muslims observe Ramadan in September, a holy time in which they fast from sunrise to sunset.
JBS Swift officials, meanwhile, said the agreement was a compromise made between Muslim and non-Muslim workers to change the mid-shift “lunch” break to 8 p.m. from about 9:15 p.m.
They said they warned the workers who walked out Sept. 5 they would be terminated if they didn’t return to work on Sept. 9. About 120 Muslim workers returned that day, according to JBS Swift, but another 120 or so didn’t. Those were the workers who were fired Wednesday afternoon.
Amid the weeklong dispute regarding break times, some Muslim workers said they’ve been victimized by ongoing harassment and discrimination at the meatpacking plant. Also, they said, the company turned off drinking fountains and closed bathrooms to them on the evening of Sept. 5.
Tamara Smid, JBS Swift spokeswoman, said via e-mail Monday that the company has begun investigations into the claims of harassment and discrimination.
She said no one at the plant was stopped from going to the bathroom or using water fountains.
While the attorney representing the union said on Saturday that he had already filed grievances for 90 of the fired employees, Smid said Monday, “We have not received anything as of today.”