Thread: Swift Hires Whites to Replace Illegals

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Unions: Swift & Co. Hiring More Whites

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

By OSKAR GARCIA, Associated Press Writer


OMAHA, Neb. — Fewer Hispanic immigrants are being hired to replace meatpacking workers arrested at Swift & Co. plants in Grand Island, Neb., and Greeley, Colo., during last week's immigration raid, union officials said Tuesday.

Local 22 union president Dan Hoppes said Tuesday that 40 to 50 new workers have been hired at the Grand Island plant since the raids.

"The lion's share of those people were Caucasian," Hoppes said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested nearly 1,300 people, most Hispanic, at six Swift & Co. plants in the sweep. Some experts say the raids could lead to a shortage of meatpackers, higher wages, and higher prices for the beef in homes and restaurants.

Several union officials said Swift, which has denied knowingly hiring illegal workers and has not been charged, improved its wages, benefits and bonuses before the raids.

"They're trying to staff up their plants and they've been raising their wages the past few weeks," said United Food and Commercial Workers spokeswoman Jill Cashen. "To me, it's an example that when you make the job more attractive you get a different kind of applicant."

Raids were also conducted at Swift plants in Hyrum, Utah; Marshalltown, Iowa; Worthington, Minn.; and Cactus, Texas. Cashen did not provide phone numbers for union officials in Iowa, Minnesota and Texas. The union in Utah said it did not cover the Swift workers.

A message left at Swift & Co. seeking comment was not immediately returned.

In Greeley, where Swift is headquartered, union local president Ernie Duran said about 75 new workers have been hired _ including about 30 Caucasians, 15 Somali immigrants and seven Hispanic immigrants, with the rest U.S.-born Hispanics. But the raid has not dissuaded Hispanic immigrants from seeking work at the plant, he said.

Before the raids, roughly 90 percent of the Greeley plant workers were Hispanic, Duran said. It was unclear, of that 90 percent, how many were immigrants and how many were U.S.-born, as the union officials said they did not keep track of members' immigration status.

Who gives a squat whether the new employees are Hispanic, white, purple, or green? My only concern is that they are legal! With that said, why is there no mention of African-Americans?

Unions don't keep track of "immigration status"?

Gee ... seems like they should to become a member. Otherwise they could be "aiding and abetting" illegales.

Several union officials said Swift, which has denied knowingly hiring illegal workers and has not been charged, improved its wages, benefits and bonuses before the raids.

If Swift did`nt know, then why were the wages so much lower?

My only concern is that they are legal! With that said, why is there no mention of African-Americans?

I know Grand Island well enough to know there are very few African Americans living there. I don't think Colorado has a very high population of African Americans either. That's probably why.

I understand what the author of this article was saying, just showing that Americans were truly affected by illegals having those jobs, and now that those jobs have been taken from criminals, and the wages have been increased to a livable starting wage, Americans were more ready to jump at the chance to work in a company they perceived to have opportunity.

So, were these the jobs that no Americans would do? Oh....that's right, they did take those jobs, so this means what the president and the OBL have been saying is a BIG FAT LIE TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC!!!!!!!

AmericanElizibeth Wrote:

So, were these the jobs that no Americans would do?

That`s another lingering question I`ve been wanting to ask,
How in the hell do any of them know whether or not it`s a job Americans don`t want?

Saying it's a job Americans won't do is just a lame excuse.

Originally Posted by MW

Who gives a squat whether the new employees are Hispanic, white, purple, or green? My only concern is that they are legal! With that said, why is there no mention of African-Americans?

Exactly! The jobs need to go to legals and American citizens, period!

As long as they are hiring Americans, is all I care about.