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I am as I type watching NOW on PBS and the program is about unionization of Smithfield foods. It turns out there has been a push to unionize for 12 years. In the words of one of the employees:"They value a hog and the processing of a hog, more than they do their workers" Isn't this the same company that was spread all over the news for illegal immigration raids? Does this sound fishy to anyone else but me? I have heard the right wing scream about the "liberal" media. Well it is funny to me that the actions of the employees to unionize have never been reported before but let some illegals be found and WHAM Front page. And the program also showed the working conditions inside the plant, EXACT duplicates of Sara Lee and Goldkist. Unsafe, low pay and horrible working conditions with a high level of accidents. Wouldn't you think some of this would be reported by the "liberal" media? The truth is: Rupert Murdock owns Fox and the other networks are publicly traded company with heavily investment through REPUBLICAN stockholders! If this program is repeated: I urge each and everyone who reads this to watch it or go to PBS.org for a podcast.
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You are right about that Kindred! I don't know, maybe it is some of the left over rebellion in me from being a child of the sixties and seventies. I can't believe that with all the inequities in the world today all the way down to Court Street in Florence, people just seem resigned to "take it." If this current mood of complacency does not change, I fear for the future of the entire planet! When did people become so lazy? I know this area was never a hotbed of activism, but it seems like there is some underlying current that is being cultivated to make people simply blind, go along to get along, 1984 types.
I saw the same program, I had a few questions. How many of those workers were illegal? A lot of them had problems with their SS#'s not matching their names. Not only were they here illegally, but falsifying documents is also a crime.

Second, if working conditions were so bad, why didn't workers just go somewhere else? The guy that was fired for trying to organize workers found a job making three times as much. Why can't other workers do the same? Like the guy said, workers vote with their feet. If working conditions aren't good, they'll leave. The federal government ordered Smithfield to re-hire the guy and for whatever reason, he took the job and a huge pay cut. That was just stupid. Doing that doesn't change the company's unfair practices, it reinforces them. When workers believe that Smithfield or any company is all that there is for them, then the big companies can get away with anything. When workers finally understand that they always have the option of leaving for something better, they have a lot more power
Nash, I took a totally different approach as to why the guy who was fired quit a job making 3 times more and returned to Smithfield. As he said in the piece, it wasn't the money, it was the principle. Maybe that is what I am getting at in this post, for some reason it seems like the almighty dollar has outweighed principles. THAT is the reason the big companies get to crush workers rights and treat employees unfairly, and the guy at Smithfield was lucky to live in an area where there WAS another job to take, he sure as hell couldn't live in the Shoals. I have heard rumors that when Walgreens Call Center came here it was because 1.they could get cheap labor 2. they were given 2 million dollars as an incentive 3. a call center that they were closing in Chicago had just gone union and they knew this area had weak willed workers who would do whatever just to keep a job. And I don't buy all this crap thrown around by SEDA that the union repretation this area has is bad for business. A happy worker is a productive worker. A worker who feels protected be it benefits, retirement or job security is a conscientious worker. NO, have to disagree with your whole outlook on the program Nash with one exception, the illegal part. But once again, that just reinforces why this company and others (like Sara Lee and Goldkist) hire these workers because they know they can get maximum work using fear tactics. Is this what is becoming THE AMERICAN WAY?

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