Thread: Muslim workers at Cargill Meat Solutions Colorado have been fired after striking

One hundred and ninety Muslim workers at meat processing plant are fired after striking when told they could not pray during their shift

Muslim workers at Cargill Meat Solutions in Fort Morgan, Colorado have been fired after walking off the job to protest 10 days ago

Employees were protesting in response to a workplace prayer dispute they had with managers at the plant

The workers would pray at different times of the day in about five-to-10 minute blocks depending on the season during their unpaid lunch break

A decision was reportedly recently made at the plant to change the long-running practice

One hundred ninety Muslim workers at a Colorado meat packing and distribution plant have been fired after walking off the job to protest a workplace prayer dispute.

The Denver Post reported that more than 200 workers, most of them immigrants from Somalia, walked off their jobs at Cargill Meat Solutions in Fort Morgan 10 days ago.

The majority of the employees didn't return to their jobs as representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) attempted to negotiate on their behalf with the company.

Jaylani Hussein, a spokesman and executive director of CAIR, told the Post that through Cargill's attorneys, 190 workers were fired for holding out on Tuesday.

He explained that some of the fired employees had been working at the company for nearly 10 years.

The company previously allowed Muslim employees to pray at the plant, and even provided a prayer room for them, Hussein told the Post.

The workers would pray at different times of the day in about five-to-10 minute blocks depending on the season, he added.

However, a decision was reportedly recently made at the plant to change the long-running practice.

'The workers were told: 'If you want to pray, go home,'' Hussein told the Post.

The reason why they came together and walked off the job was an attempt to change plant managers' decision about the prayer schedule.

Instead, Hussein said he was informed of the mass firing by the plant on Tuesday, despite CAIR's negotiations.

'It's disappointing,' Hussein told the Post. 'They feel missing their prayer is worse than losing their job. It's like losing a blessing from God.'

He explained that officials with the company said it was over a 'no call, no show, walk out.'

Previously, the Muslim workers were using time out of a 15-minute break period or time from their unpaid 30-minute lunch break, the Post reported.

Director of communications for Cargill, Mike Martin, told the Greeley Tribune last week that employees of all faiths are allowed to use a reflection area.

He said that due to employees working on an assembly line, only one or two at a time can use the area to avoid slowing production at the plant.

Furthermore, Cargill has a policy that states any employees who are fired can not reapply for a job for at least six months.

A teleconference is scheduled next week between CAIR and Cargill about the issue.

Hussein told the Post that he hopes the company will waive the six-month hiring freeze on the terminated employees.

The workers earn $14-per-hour and up and are represented by Teamsters Local 445, a local union.

Read more: Muslim workers at Cargill Meat Solutions in Colorado fired after striking | Daily Mail Online

Why are 200 Somalians employed at this plant to begin with? Deport them. They're "causing problems". Get them out of here and send them back to Somalia. The federal government shouldn't have let them in here to begin with.

We've got tens of millions of black Americans out of work who would die for these good jobs at Cargill and we have Somalians complaining about not being able to pray 5 times a day at work? See this religion is why they're poor and whining all the time. I've never been at a job where I could take off 5 frigging times a day to pray. You barely had time to pee.

So America is not the place for these people. Americans have to work much harder than these people even know about, now get them out of here, they're dragging down our businesses, causing problems in the work place, stealing jobs from Americans, and interfering with our national commerce, all of which disrupts our domestic tranquility and threatens our national security.