Posted on 08/02/2008 3:22:15 AM PDT by Man50D
Food workers at the Shelbyville, Tenn., plant for Tyson Foods, which boasts on its corporate website that it strives "to honor God," will have time off for Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday closing the month of Ramadan, instead of the American tradition Labor Day.
Officials with the company told WND the labor union representing the 1,200 plant workers, including about 700 immigrants from Somalia who largely are Muslim, sought the holiday change in the new five-year contract, and the company agreed.
Officials with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union issue a press statement about the new "contract [that] creates an additional paid holiday, [Eid al-Fitr,] a Muslim holiday that occurs toward the end of Ramadan."
A spokeswoman at the union's office told WND no one was in the office today who could comment on the request.
To the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, Gary Mickelson, Tyson's media chief, said there is no new holiday, but at the union's request the company agreed to discontinue the Labor Day holiday and implement Eid al-Fitr.
"Union leadership did request and receive Eid al-Fitr (which is apparently spelled various ways including Id al-Fitr and Eid ul-Fitr) as a paid holiday in place of Labor Day," Mickelson told the newspaper.
"Since all Team Members will still have eight paid holidays, the change will not affect production," Mickelson said.
On the paper's forum page, readers were outraged.
"If this holiday is that important to them, make them take it off instead of Christmas Day and allow ALL workers to be off Labor Day. Most AMERICAN families have some type of function on Labor Day," wrote one anonymous participant.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
It is rather ironic isn't it...a union dropping a "holiday" supported and pushed on to the American business by unions to recognize unions.
Is this union known as the Federation of Union Chicken Killers?
I did the same and then forwarded the article and email address to my family and friends. . .
The table shows the US at only 1%, but they've been doing that sort of recruiting here since the days when Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr became Mohammad Ali.
Interestingly, Cassius Clay's (father's) namesake was an emancipationist White Guy in Kentucky, (one of the founders of the Republican party) whereas it was Muslim Arabs that enslaved the ancestors of the black Cassius Marcellus Clays.
Hmm.
Which Tyson gave into. Besides you can't boycott the union without boycotting Tyson as well.
Besides, there are lots of other good reasons to boycott Tyson, as indicated in the posts on this and the other "Eid" threads.
I heard it was a pork processing plant before they brought the Somalis in to process chickens. You know you can never really get all the pig stuff out of a hog slaughterhouse.
I'm sure Orothodox Jews wouldn't go near the place.
Contact page.
http://www.tyson.com/Corporate/Contact/Contact.aspx
BTW,
Tyson Media Contact
Gary Mickelson
office: 479-290-6111
cell: 479-236-9022
gary.mickelson@tyson.com
Mail: Tyson Foods, Inc. P.O. Box 2020
Springdale, AR 72764-6999
Telephone: 1-800-643-3410 2210 West Oaklawn Drive
Springdale, AR 72764-6999
Eid mubarak.
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