The battle at Smithfield continues

The historic walk-out of workers at a Smithfield Foods operation in Tarheel, N.C. -- the largest pork processing plant in the country, known for its checkered labor history -- that we reported on yesterday continues.

It's now being reported that over 1,000 workers -- out of a total plant workforce of 5,000 -- have participated in the wildcat action.

The Associated Press and other media sources are echoing a Smithfield press release claiming that fewer than 20 percent of employees have been off the job at any given time, and the facility is still at 70% capacity. Workers and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union dispute these numbers, calling them an attempt to put a positive spin on the work stoppage that stabilize falling stock prices.

What's also interesting is that the media is echoing Smithfield's claim that the worker protest is largely about immigration status:

At issue is the company's decision to comply with a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to gather the names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and gender of workers at the plant. About 500 to 600 workers were found to have unverifiable information and the company has fired about 50 so far for providing false information, Pittman said.

In its statement today, Smithfield states it will stop the flawed Social Security match process.

Yet in a handbill workers were distributing this morning, they outlined a very different set of concerns, related mostly to retaliation against workers who spoke out about unfair treatment. The handbill, prepared by African American and Latino workers, reads:

"We the workers of Tar Heel Smithfield Plant stand united in the following demands...

• No retaliation now or in the future for any worker participating in the fight for justice at Smithfield including but not limited to points, demotion, or termination.
• An end to the unjust firing of Smithfield workers and the timely rehire of all workers who have been unfairly terminated."

Farther down in the AP news story, they also quote union representative Gene Bruskin as saying that "Smithfield has failed to address problems of sexual harassment and denial of workers compensation claims."

The New York Times was also one of the few to note that the Smithfield plant in Tarheel isn't unionized, and that desire for a union contract was one of the key reasons for the work stoppage:

One of those engaged in the walkout, Keith Ludlum, who is paid $11 an hour to herd hogs to slaughter, said the workers were concerned about far more than the immigration matter.

"They're asking for the company to allow us to have a union contract," Mr. Ludlum said, "and to respect workers' rights and to respect workers in general."

Clearly, the major events of the last two days -- a spontaneous worker uprising at a key industry, in the 2nd-least unionized state in the country -- are the culmination of deep and growing problems that have reached the breaking point. Whatever becomes of this particular burst of action, these fundamental issues will remain.

With Smithfield employees facing likely retaliation, the union is encouraging the public to contact Smithfield Chairman Joseph Luter III and new CEO C. Larry Pope and ask that they address the concerns of workers.