Posted on 09/11/2008 12:00:26 PM PDT by ljco
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.
...
"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."
...
"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."
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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.
....
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at denverpost.com ...
I don’t blame the company at all.
It costs a FORTUNE to stop the production line at a large business. It would mean a complete shutdown of the plant for hundreds to leave their stations. They are actually asking the plant to shut down while they pray :-(
It’s a LOT to ask to shut down a 400 cow/hour production line.
Chicago needs a community organizer . Apply there .
No you were fired because you broke your Union contract!
Well, if they didnt have 200 just arrived a few weeks ago from Somalia muslims (how much you wanna bet, illegal), they wouldnt have these problems would they? I mean, somalia? Even mexico seems to have been a bit too pricey for these big spenders pockets!
Hey, Muzzies! If you don’t like the way things are done here - go back to your own country!
No Ahmed, the unemployed potential terrorist, you were fired for not working and for walking off the job.
I was partially being sarcastic, but considering the legal ramifications of disallowing the practice of their religion in this country, at present, I believe my original statement stands.
Hypothetical situation. If Christians had to pray 3 times a day the country would revolve around having 3 breaks a day. It would be in the law and would be accepted by all. What then when a Muslim business owner decides you’re no longer allowed to practice your required 3 prayers a day? Is he not breaking the law? I believe he is, according to the law of the land.
Dislike for muslims aside, there’s entirely too much thoughtless hatred and too little selflessness nowadays. I would expect the same standards to be applied toward Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Jewish, and Mormons as is applied to Christians in general.
So long as they’re following our laws I believe we’re obligated to do the same.
Frankly, I don't feel comfortable giving these people access to food I may be putting on my table.
This problem of trying to practice their religious beliefs on the job has been ongoing and seems to be increasing as time goes on. Tyson rolled over for them. Yesterday I read this on FR:
Minnesota company to allow Somalis prayer breaks [federally mediated settlement]
How many other cases like this haven't been reported in the press? Muslims have been busy changing the rules at schools and in the workplace. This incremental introduction of their religious beliefs into the rest of our lives is getting a bit out of hand. Every day or every other day we're reading about this taking place somewhere in America.
Muslims~! Having a hard time praying at work?
Praise Allah, the solution is here.
Let your cell phone pray for you, with the new Islamophone.
Automatically knows which times to pray, built in GPS
shows you which way to point phone to Mecca.
Timer lets you know during Ramadan
when the fast begins and is over.
Use up those old rollover minutes!
$39.95 not including Jihad Calling Plan.
Jihad Calling Plan includes instant autotext.
Always know when a Shaheed has been successful.
And Blinking warning light warns of Drones.
make analysis with kook libs that love to throw hard working americans money to non-workers.
bear given “free food”.
bear didn’t think it was enough.
bear went after hard working fisherman to take more from him.
oops, i have another screen up, was wondering how the heck i posted to this thread.
need caffeine alert
I say those who were fired should start their own blankity blank companies and have whatever policies they want. Otherwise, shut their blankity blank mouths and get to work.
swiftbooted
One sect of the murderous cult believe their
next prophet will be born by a man.
They check their feces by hand to see if any
lumps could be their next prophet.
“They are actually asking the plant to shut down while they pray :-(”
That is why Islam has such a hard time assimilating. It’s not just a religion, it’s a way of life. It demands things of you every minute of your life and it insists on being supreme.
I suppose one could argue that that is true of all religions if one follows them “religiously”. Most other religions, though, have “adapted”, so they can coexit within the laws of the land. Whether Islam will get to that point remains to be seen.
Although Swift made the right move in this...why didnt they hire Americans in the first place?
No sympathy for an anti-American company that refuses to hire Americans...esp after you were busted earlier for hiring illegal-alien non-Americans.
Its ironic that the Faith of Hate may take down an anti-American employer. An anti-American company gets taken down because of its anti-Americanism....at least one of America’s enemies will be taken down...
just a thought, but if the govt. forces a private company or small business owner, to essentially run their business based partially on the requirements of a particular religion, doesn’t this violate the “separation of church and state” that the aclu is eternally bashing for?
They can certainly take their “freedom of religion” to a job that is more suited for prayers five times a day. A production line is not one of them.
When hired I’m sure they were handed an employee handbook which clearly stated the companies policy for ALL employees on breaks and lunch hours. When excepting the job they are excepting the company policies.
If they didn’t like the conditions of employment they should not have taken the job.
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