Former Alberta meatpackers sue Tyson Foods
By Tom Johnston on 4/23/2007 for Meatingplace.com
Former workers at a Tyson Foods slaughterhouse in Brooks, Alberta, Canada, filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the company committed human rights abuses and wrongful firings during a unionization effort, the Calgary Herald reported.
The complaint, filed last week by Calgary law firm Docken and Co., comes 18 months after the conclusion of a heated three-week strike at the Lakeside Packers plant, during which 1,000 workers — roughly half the workforce — walked out.
The suit alleges that several human rights complaints were filed against the company leading up to unionization efforts. Among the complaints was the charge that the company fired workers for suffering injuries on the job, as well as forming an employee committee.
Lawyer Clint Docken told reporters at least 50 former workers could be eligible to join the class action. It seeks compensation for former employees allegedly wrongfully fired between April 26, 2004, and April 19, 2006, for trying to discuss violations they felt were happening at the plant. He declined to say how many already have joined.
Libby Lawson, spokeswoman for Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods, owner of the Lakeside plant, told reporters "we have not seen this lawsuit, so we don't comment on matters we haven't seen."
meatingplace.com
By Tom Johnston on 4/23/2007 for Meatingplace.com
Former workers at a Tyson Foods slaughterhouse in Brooks, Alberta, Canada, filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the company committed human rights abuses and wrongful firings during a unionization effort, the Calgary Herald reported.
The complaint, filed last week by Calgary law firm Docken and Co., comes 18 months after the conclusion of a heated three-week strike at the Lakeside Packers plant, during which 1,000 workers — roughly half the workforce — walked out.
The suit alleges that several human rights complaints were filed against the company leading up to unionization efforts. Among the complaints was the charge that the company fired workers for suffering injuries on the job, as well as forming an employee committee.
Lawyer Clint Docken told reporters at least 50 former workers could be eligible to join the class action. It seeks compensation for former employees allegedly wrongfully fired between April 26, 2004, and April 19, 2006, for trying to discuss violations they felt were happening at the plant. He declined to say how many already have joined.
Libby Lawson, spokeswoman for Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods, owner of the Lakeside plant, told reporters "we have not seen this lawsuit, so we don't comment on matters we haven't seen."
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