Tommy
Well-known member
Tyson Foods Among Companies Planning To Shut Down Plants
POSTED: 5:37 am MDT April 29, 2006
DENVER -- Some of the nation's largest meatpacking companies are planning to pare production or shut down entire plants Monday in part to accommodate workers' requests for time off to participate in pro-immigration reform rallies and demonstrations, company officials said.
Greeley, Colo.-based Swift & Co. will shut down four of its five beef processing plants and two of its three pork processing plants, spokesman Sean McHugh said in a statement Friday. The move would affect some 10,000 Swift workers.
Tyson Foods, headquartered in Springdale, Ark., will close about a dozen beef and pork plants, the company said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Wichita, Kan.-based Cargill Meat Solutions, the nation's second-largest beef processor, said it would give more than 15,000 off its workers the day off Monday so they can participate in the rallies. Cargill will close plants in Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Texas, Nebraska and Colorado.
Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Foods Inc. doesn't plan to shut down any plants or slow production, a spokesman said, but will honor employees' requests for time off if possible.
Advocacy groups are encouraging immigrants around the country to leave work or school on Monday to demonstrate in support of immigration reforms that include a temporary worker program and in opposition to a bill approved by the U.S. House to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border and make it a felony to be in the country illegally.
Decisions to shut down meatpacking plants or shift production were made based on expected shortages of workers and other business conditions, company officials said.
Tyson chose to shut down production at 10 beef and pork plants "because of factors such as market conditions that permit scheduling changes and the potential shortage of workers," said spokesman Gary Mickelson. "We are asking workers not to take any unauthorized time off and instead seek pre-approval from their supervisor or participate during non-work hours."
Tyson, Swift and Cargill are the top three beef-producing companies. A spokesman for the fourth largest, Kansas City-based National Beef Packing Co. LLP, did not immediately return a call late Friday afternoon.
"It was very clear to us that immigration reform is a very emotional issue," Cargill Meat Solutions spokesman Mark Klein told the Fort Morgan (Colo.) Times.
The company's Fort Morgan plant can process up to 4,500 head of cattle a day, and about 70 percent of its 1,900 employees are Latino. Klein did not return several calls from The Associated Press.
Swift, whose Greeley beef plant employs about 1,700 people, said in a statement Friday that its decision to close that plant and five others was based on factors including previously scheduled maintenance, general market conditions and employees' requests for time off. Company spokesman Sean McHugh said that Swift will still be able to meet its customers' needs through flexibility in its plants, which could include longer shifts or extra work days.
"We've said we respect and support their (workers') right to voice their opinions on issues of personal importance, in this case immigration reform, via all appropriate, peaceful and legal means," McHugh said. "We encourage them to express their opinions during non-working hours."
ConAgra spokesman Chris Kircher said the company favors immigration reforms that support employees' rights and the company's ability to comply with federal laws to ensure a legal work force.
"We understand there are many illegal immigrants who are working hard to take care of themselves and their families, and any reforms need to take that into account," he said. "We obviously have some employees that this is an important issue and could affect their families, friends and neighbors."
He said the company has encouraged employees to talk with their supervisors about taking time off Monday, but said normal attendance policies will be in place.
Earlier this week, McHugh said Swift supports immigration reforms that "protect employers that comply in good faith with hiring requirements" and that would include border-security and guest-worker measures.
Pittsburgh, Texas-based Pilgrim's Pride, planned to adjust its work schedules at poultry plants in Arkansas, while Delaware-based poultry processor Townsends Inc. planned to close its plant in Batesville, Ark., on Monday.
POSTED: 5:37 am MDT April 29, 2006
DENVER -- Some of the nation's largest meatpacking companies are planning to pare production or shut down entire plants Monday in part to accommodate workers' requests for time off to participate in pro-immigration reform rallies and demonstrations, company officials said.
Greeley, Colo.-based Swift & Co. will shut down four of its five beef processing plants and two of its three pork processing plants, spokesman Sean McHugh said in a statement Friday. The move would affect some 10,000 Swift workers.
Tyson Foods, headquartered in Springdale, Ark., will close about a dozen beef and pork plants, the company said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Wichita, Kan.-based Cargill Meat Solutions, the nation's second-largest beef processor, said it would give more than 15,000 off its workers the day off Monday so they can participate in the rallies. Cargill will close plants in Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Texas, Nebraska and Colorado.
Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Foods Inc. doesn't plan to shut down any plants or slow production, a spokesman said, but will honor employees' requests for time off if possible.
Advocacy groups are encouraging immigrants around the country to leave work or school on Monday to demonstrate in support of immigration reforms that include a temporary worker program and in opposition to a bill approved by the U.S. House to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border and make it a felony to be in the country illegally.
Decisions to shut down meatpacking plants or shift production were made based on expected shortages of workers and other business conditions, company officials said.
Tyson chose to shut down production at 10 beef and pork plants "because of factors such as market conditions that permit scheduling changes and the potential shortage of workers," said spokesman Gary Mickelson. "We are asking workers not to take any unauthorized time off and instead seek pre-approval from their supervisor or participate during non-work hours."
Tyson, Swift and Cargill are the top three beef-producing companies. A spokesman for the fourth largest, Kansas City-based National Beef Packing Co. LLP, did not immediately return a call late Friday afternoon.
"It was very clear to us that immigration reform is a very emotional issue," Cargill Meat Solutions spokesman Mark Klein told the Fort Morgan (Colo.) Times.
The company's Fort Morgan plant can process up to 4,500 head of cattle a day, and about 70 percent of its 1,900 employees are Latino. Klein did not return several calls from The Associated Press.
Swift, whose Greeley beef plant employs about 1,700 people, said in a statement Friday that its decision to close that plant and five others was based on factors including previously scheduled maintenance, general market conditions and employees' requests for time off. Company spokesman Sean McHugh said that Swift will still be able to meet its customers' needs through flexibility in its plants, which could include longer shifts or extra work days.
"We've said we respect and support their (workers') right to voice their opinions on issues of personal importance, in this case immigration reform, via all appropriate, peaceful and legal means," McHugh said. "We encourage them to express their opinions during non-working hours."
ConAgra spokesman Chris Kircher said the company favors immigration reforms that support employees' rights and the company's ability to comply with federal laws to ensure a legal work force.
"We understand there are many illegal immigrants who are working hard to take care of themselves and their families, and any reforms need to take that into account," he said. "We obviously have some employees that this is an important issue and could affect their families, friends and neighbors."
He said the company has encouraged employees to talk with their supervisors about taking time off Monday, but said normal attendance policies will be in place.
Earlier this week, McHugh said Swift supports immigration reforms that "protect employers that comply in good faith with hiring requirements" and that would include border-security and guest-worker measures.
Pittsburgh, Texas-based Pilgrim's Pride, planned to adjust its work schedules at poultry plants in Arkansas, while Delaware-based poultry processor Townsends Inc. planned to close its plant in Batesville, Ark., on Monday.