Free Republic

GRAND ISLAND — About 50 to 80 Muslims quit at the JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plant Thursday night. Dan Hoppes, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local No. 22, said the matter stems from the recent debate over break time for the purpose of prayer during the holy month of Ramadan. "There were some Muslim people who wanted to get the rest of the people to back them to moving their (dinner) break to an earlier time, and when that did not happen, the rest of the people went back to work and those people protesting...

JBS Swift & Co. fires about one-fourth of 400 workers who had walked off the job, demanding break time to pray during the holy month of Ramadan. The union local says it will fight the action. ... When Ramadan began Sept. 1, workers said supervisors informally gave them time to break their daylong fast at sundown. But non-Muslim employees protested, and on Friday, JBS Swift & Co. officials refused to give workers break time to pray and eat. About 400 workers left the company's meatpacking plant, which dominates this city of 90,000. By Tuesday, 250 had not returned, and Swift...

Thursday, September 11, 2008Fired Muslim workers plan 'low-profile' day Chris Casey About 100 Muslim workers fired Wednesday by JBS Swift & Co. in Greeley planned a “low-profile” day today in recognition of the victims of the 9-11 massacre seven years ago, according to one of the workers’ leaders. Kaise Egal, who hasn’t worked at Swift but is a leader of the local Muslim workers, said the fired workers were staying low-key “in respect to the 9-11 victims.” “We told the people to be low-profile and not to demonstrate,” Egal said in a phone interview. “That’s why we didn’t do the...