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