Funny.

A complaint by Somali workers earlier this week that they weren’t getting early enough break times to accommodate religious fasting snowballed into worker protests at the JBS Swift & Co. plant Friday.
Employees from both early and late shifts converged in the afternoon in front of the human resources office at the north Greeley plant.

About 100 employees, some of whom were supposed to be working, protested company officials accommodating Muslims by moving their break time to accommodate those fasting for Ramadan, a Muslim holy month. The company allowed Muslim workers to take their breaks about an hour earlier than normal to break their fasts.

The peaceful crowd milled about behind the plant gates signifying its frustration.

“They have no respect for the Spanish or white people,” said Brianna Castillo, a Swift employee of four years. “Many times we are forced to pull extra count… I don’t feel that is right.”

Castillo, who is white, said every race was represented in the protest with the exception of Somalis. Castillo said employees are frustrated by what they feel is a double standard when it comes to other races and Somalis.

“Somalis are running our plant,” Castillo said. “They are telling us what to do.”

Swift security guards paced the parking lot helping to break up the crowds. Joann Lopez, who finished her morning shift, said she was threatened with her job if she didn’t leave, which didn’t happen to Somalis when they protested earlier in the week.

Lopez, who is Latino and Catholic, said she is upset because the new schedule forces the second shift to work more consecutive hours after their break.

“They are working four to five hours without a break and that’s wrong,” Lopez said. “This is hard work, and to go without a break, we feel it.”

The problem began on Tuesday when Muslim workers were told they could not break their fast at 7:30 p.m., but would have to wait until their lunch break. For many that break didn’t come until about 9 p.m. On Wednesday, Muslim workers gathered outside the Swift plant to negotiate a solution with management. That night they were told they would be allowed to break at 7:30 p.m.

United Food Commercial Workers Local 7, the union that represents primarily production department workers at Swift, responded Thursday by filing a grievance as directed by its membership. The union said the company may have been in violation of its contract, which states that workers must receive lunch break at the mid-point of their shift.

Jack Shandley, head of global human resources for JBS Swift & Co., said late Friday afternoon that the grievance “is just a procedural issue, and we’ll work through it.” He said company management will talk about the matter with union officials and “it will be done as expeditiously as necessary and as the facts are available.”

Shandley said Swift plants have begun hiring Somali workers, whose religion is primarily Muslim, in the last couple of years as African refugees have sought employment in the United States. The aspects of their religion are “relatively new” to the company, which is trying to adapt.

“U.S. law requires companies to, when they can, make reasonable accommodations,” he said. “We, like any good employer, try to balance the needs of all employees in respect to their religions and, to the extent that we can do that without diminishing efficiencies. That’s what we’re trying to do.”…

Shandley said he’s confident that all the differences can be worked out between the employee groups. This week’s events have not caused notable disruption to Swift’s business operations, he said.

“We’re working with all parties to try to reach a reasonable accommodation,” he said. “We think we’re reaching that to balance the needs of everybody.”

You don’t find that a little scary?

What I find scary is that BO what’s to be president of the USA but refuses to tell us who he really is. I’m a bit tired of his packaged responses and his refusal to disclose the personal information that the public is asking for.

Why can’t he just say that his Muslim upbringing for a brief time has made him better able to understand the one-fifth of the world who are Muslim?

Obama calls the true facts about his background “smears.” Yeah, right.

You don’t find that a little scary?

http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/9/6/1/charlie-rose-green-room-with-sarah-palin

Ahmadinejad’s Great Leap Backward for women

Dhimmi Watch