Tyson’s Food drops Labor Day holiday in favor of Muslim holiday in TN
Posted by acorcoran on August 1, 2008
Update August 13th: More thoughts on this from Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch.
Update August 12th: JIm Boulet of English First says Tyson’s reversal a big victory for America, here. And, be sure to see Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy here on Tysons, Sharia creep and Brian Mosely.
Update August 10th: CAIR calls critics of Tyson’s Islamophobes here.
Update August 8th: Union overturns the contract here.
Update August 7th: Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch at Frontpage here, and a lot of informative comments at Jihad Watch here. See the Shelbyville Times-Gazette editorial today too.
New from the Times-Gazette on August 6th: Brian Mosely has a follow-up article here. And, my response to the bigotry charge here.
Update August 6th: My comments on this story, where are the investigative journalists?
Update August 5th: Here Fox News adds a bit more information.
More on this story on August 4th: Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies made a few additional good points here.
My latest update: This post has led to renewed interest in what happened in Emporia, KS, go here.
Update! August 4th: Bloggers (here) are now going after Mosely for exposing one critic of his reporting as an employee of a refugee resettlement volag. What, he isn’t allowed to question critics motives who are questioning his? It seems to me that if you put your employer’s name on the internet, it is public information.
Update! Update! August 3rd: See reporter Brian Mosely’s blog today on how this story is spreading like wildfire here.
Another shoe has dropped in Shelbyville, TN where Somalis now make up a large percentage of the workers in a Tyson’s chicken processing plant there.
Workers at Tyson Foods’ poultry processing plant in Shelbyville will no longer have a paid day off on Labor Day, but will instead take the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in the fall.
A recent press release from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) stated that a new contract at the Shelbyville facility “implements a new holiday to accommodate the … Muslim workers at the plant.”
The RWDSU stated that “the five-year contract creates an additional paid holiday, Iidal Fitil, a Muslim holiday that occurs toward the end of Ramadan.”
I’m trying to figure out what is the magic number of Somalis that would be required to begin to change our American customs in a community.
The press release stated there are approximatly 700 Muslims working at Tyson’s, but Mickelson said that Somalis only represent approximately 250 of the 1,200 employed at the plant, a little over 20 percent of the workforce.
To clarify the above, it seems the Union says 700 Somalis work at Tyson’s while Tyson’s claims only 250. So what is up with that? Seems like an awfully large miscount on someone’s part.
Read the whole article by award winning reporter Brian Mosely, and don’t forget to read the comments!
Through 2007 we have admitted 82,000 Somalis to the US through the refugee resettlement program. Between 6000 and 7000 came in 2007 alone. Go to this post where a reader and I discuss those numbers.
P.S. If you are a new reader just joining us, see the Shelbyville Somali rampage of last week here.
blulitespecial said
I understand the police were called Friday afternoon to keep news crews of the Shelbyville plant property.Also,I read that of the 700 muslim employees there,250 are Somali.I’m not sure if this holiday change is part of a local contract,or a “master”contract.A master contract covers all union employees working at all of that company’s locations.A local contract covers local issues at each location- in this case a majority of the workers in Shelbyville are muslim,so the local contract was negotiated,voted on,and changed by the majority of those who could vote.The union there HAS to represent the workers in the plant and try to put forth what they desire.
Just so happens that muslims here don’t like American holidays,Western religions,American laws,customs,BBQ pork ribs…well,you get the idea.Labor day has meaning to those of us who are American union workers.This meaning has been lost in Shelbyville.This is just wrong!
blulitespecial said
The wrong numbers were reported to the media,I hear.Whatever the correct numbers of muslims in the plant,the majority of employees must have voted to make the change.Unless the company has a lot of influence over the union,250 doesn’t make a majority.Sounds fishy to me… more threats,maybe? That wouldn’t be anything new for Tyson.
jim said
Gee how many people want to eat Tyson chicken now. I sure feel a hunger for that tasty Tyson chicken. In fact; I’m going to make it a point the next time we go to the store to avoid the Somali special. Possibly included in that special sizzling sauce of chicken is T.B, HIV and many other third world delectables..
acorcoran said
Check out this blog called “a river-ark on the ocean brine” (oh brother) where the blogger (obviously from north of TN) makes fun of the comments of Tennesseans who she says “have nothing else to do down there”…
http://scribebytrade.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/mythbusters-somalis-free-money-and-chicken-factories-edition/
If I get some time later, I’ll have more to say on this…
acorcoran said
Jim just reported that World Net Daily has more on this story here:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=71218
acorcoran said
Note to the bazillion people coming to this post today. If you simply type the word “Somali” into our search function you will learn about all the nifty stuff the Somalis have been into recently.
The mainstream media is never going to put it all together for you because it goes against their concept of beautiful multiculturalism. They especially will never tell you about the on-going conflicts in the Black community between American born blacks and Somalis.
acorcoran said
Here is a Utah blogger on this subject:
http://voice-of-deseret.blogspot.com/2008/08/boycott-tyson-tyson-plant-in.html
acorcoran said
And another blogger:
http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/?p=7069#comment-138810
blulitespecial said
I found it strange the union reps at Shelbyville/Tyson stated to the AP there were 700 muslims working in the plant.You NEVER say things like this to anyone outside the union hall.Talking about the membership is just not done!
I’ve heard the 700 figure may not be correct,but I’ve seen no correction statement from the union.The Tyson spokesperson says there are 250 Somali employed there.Somalis aren’t the only muslim refugee”groups” working the slaughterhouses. I tend not to trust the Tyson spinmeister,Mickelson.We didn’t trust him in person in Emporia,and he’s put out downright lies to the press.He also put out false information in a public meeting in Emporia,lying directly to City officials and State Representatives.Until I see a correction statement,I’m partial to the union’s figure of 700 muslims in the plant.
I read a statement that a Tyson employee made about the Shelbyville plant having the only muslim prayer room. Wrong-they’re in most,if not all Tyson plants!Check out other companies-they have them all over.I wonder why they think Shelbyville has the only one? Perhaps because Tyson told them so? Or maybe told this person to say this? Wow.
I’m still of the opinion that this is a very weak union,and they were threatened by Tyson thugs on an individual level to “vote right-or else”.That,or there truly is a muslim majority in the membership there.No union would turn their back on Labor Day.It is who we are.
acorcoran said
Who is riding the busses? http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/07/21/news/072208fzshockley.txt
Hattip: Blulitespecial
We have many posts here at RRW about meatpackers moving refugees, Somalis mostly, from city to city.
acorcoran said
Did you ever notice that those who profess sadness about how ‘racist, hateful, xenophobic, etc’ a whole group of people is use the most hateful descriptions themselves of those they diagree with?
I laugh everytime I see one of these holier than thou types spewing hatred against fellow human beings, in this case Tennesseans/conservatives, while they condemn hatefullness.
Read it and laugh!
http://sobeale.blogspot.com/2008/08/embarrassed-by-my-fellow-tennesseans.html
Happy to be a hayseed!
Chris Wage said
I don’t think anyone is faulting him for questioning his criticis’ motives. At least, I’m not. He’s free to question whatever he likes. I’m simply pointing out that his question in this case is … stupid.
acorcoran said
Mr. Wage says,
I’m simply pointing out that his question in this case is … stupid.
What question is stupid?
Chris Wage said
Probably easiest just to point you here
Renewed interest in Tyson’s (failed) Somali experiment in Emporia, KS « Refugee Resettlement Watch said
[...] Tyson’s Food drops Labor Day holiday in favor of Muslim holiday in TN [...]
acorcoran said
To Chris above (#14), I checked out the post you linked. I would suspect that the workers in the refugee offices spread around the country are not getting rich on their salaries, however, we have done loads of research on the millions and millions of dollars the head offices are receiving from the federal government (the taxpayers) and the HUGE salaries of CEO’s at places like the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and the International Rescue Committee (more than the VP of the US)….while refugees go without basic items in their apartments.
Actually I don’t want to write a book here (or recreate this whole blog), so I will just say that refugee resettlement must be reformed from within before it explodes on its own.
Search our site for Chris Coen (Friends of Refugees) to see some of the egregious cases of abuse and neglect of refugees by volags.
Also, I would think long and hard about these questionable relationships between big business and the federal refugee industry. Is it possible that while you are thinking you are helping people resettle into better lives these refugees are being brought to the US and exploited by businesses wanting to keep labor costs low.
acorcoran said
Even Snopes is in on this…see “Embroiled Chicken” here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/tyson.asp
blulitespecial said
From the NY Times
“both management and union were surprised when nearly all the Somali workers — Tyson puts their number at 250, the union at nearly 400 — did not work on Id al-Fitr last year. They were not paid, but the plant almost had to close that day”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/us/06muslim.html?ref=business
The last I saw the union put muslim employee numbers at 700 – Tyson stated 250 Somali employees.That’s apples and oranges to me!
There are too many rumors floating around about this- The bargaining committee did the only voting on this,Three muslims sat on the committee and now there are two,Many workers didn’t even know there was a vote,Women are still being harassed on the job, the list goes on.
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acorcoran said
Dymphna at Gates of Vienna writes about this case, has kind words for RRW, and brings out some new angles. http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2008/08/prayer-rooms-and-chickens-in-tennessee.html
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