Thread: Smithfield Packing Company Press Release about fired workers

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Statement Regarding Smithfield Meeting With Tar Heel Employees
Posted on : Tue, 21 Nov 2006 23:30:01 GMT | Author : Smithfield Packing Company
News Category : PressRelease

TAR HEEL, N.C., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Smithfield Packing Company representatives met today with a number of employees and with Father Carlos N. Arce of the Roman Catholic Diocese to further discuss the employees' concerns, as we promised last week.

Clearly, some employees were confused because of steps Smithfield had taken to assure the federal government that we do not knowingly employ undocumented workers. These steps required our employees to provide Social Security information matching the information on file with the U.S. Social Security Administration.

As we said last week, we have agreed to give employees more time to straighten out any questions about their Social Security information. We also have assigned a human resources staff person to help employees answer questions and resolve no-match issues.

We believe that, as a result of the meeting, our employees have a better understanding of what the company must do to comply with federal law. We all agreed that we will work together in a cooperative way to solve employees' problems. The meeting was friendly, positive and constructive. We believe that the meeting - and our ongoing communications with our employees - will go a long way toward resolving concerns on these immigration issues.

We want to make clear that today's session was not a meeting with representatives of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. The union does not represent the employees at Tar Heel. In fact, plant employees have rejected the union in two secret-ballot elections.

If the UFCW wants to represent employees at the plant, it should accept our offer to schedule an election by secret ballot. We also have offered to pay half the cost of an independent outside observer to supervise the election. So far, the union has refused our offer.

The union is simply not being honest with employees - or with the public. In fact, the same Social Security match process is being followed at all Smithfield Packing plants, including those represented by the UFCW. The union actually has negotiated labor contracts with Smithfield that require termination of employees who cannot resolve these issues.

It is in the best interest of our employees to have their correct Social Security numbers on file. Otherwise, they cannot receive credit and refunds on their tax payments. Nor can they receive the benefits we offer, including health insurance for them and their families, an on-site medical clinic and pharmacy where visits and prescriptions cost as little as $10, life insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, dental insurance and college tuition assistance for their children.

We are proud of our employees, proud of our management and proud of our Tar Heel plant. As always, we will listen to the concerns of our employees, investigating any issues that they raise. We do this on a regular basis in our quality circle meetings and whenever employees come to us with problems.

About Smithfield Packing Company

Smithfield Packing Co. is America's leading pork producer. It produces a variety of pork products - country hams, hot dogs, bacon, deli meat, fresh meat, barbeque, sausage and more - for customers around the world. It is a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, a leading international food company with annual revenues of $11 billion and one of "America's Most Admired Companies," as ranked by FORTUNE magazine.

Smithfield Packing Company

It would have been more reassuring had the release said something to the effect that the decision of workers to violate the nation's immigration laws was their own and that the company could not and should not be held liable for the consequences of their illegal acts.

I think it is an absolute outrage that the church has gotten involved in something they would have otherwise never been bothered with. How many times does the catholic church send a priest out to 'negotiate' employer/employee relations on behalf of 'fired' employees. Make no mistake, their intention is nothing more than to find a way to further enable the aliens. Where is the outrage among parishoners?

We've got to come up with a better way of interacting if we're going to generate responses and get people interested in taking action. I wanted to get involved with reporting Smithfield Foods to BICE, but it seems that someone left out important information (i.e. zip code for the Smithfield Plant in N/C, the contact phone numbers of plant management, etc...). There are several "on-line" methods for filing formal "written" complaints to BICE, but not without the complete details. Trying to do a serach for this particular Smithfield Foods location via their website was useless. People are motivated, and will get involved, but only if it's relatively easy to get involved. Encouraging citizens to become active, but then making them "search" for the correct info, discourages some from going the "extra mile".

ncfm

see http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=47382

No doubt that the Catholic Church dreams of being god over the entire world. Swallow up one country at a time for the one world government and religion. They tried it once during the crudsades, unfortunately, people have long forgotten about the millions who died because they refused to convert.