Quick Hit: Unions win at North Carolina plant
I thought this story was inspiring.
When immigration agents raided Smithfield Food's huge North Carolina slaughterhouse two years ago, union organizer Eduardo Peña compared the impact to a "nuclear bomb." The day after, people were so scared that most of the plant's 5,000 employees didn't show up for work. The lines where they kill and cut apart 32,000 hogs every day were motionless. "Workers think it's happening because people were getting organized," said Vargas at the time.Yet on Dec. 11, 2008, when the votes were counted in the same packing plant, 2,041 workers had voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), while just 1,879 had voted against it. That stunning reversal set off celebrations in house trailers and ramshackle homes in Tarheel, Red Springs, St. Pauls, and all the tiny working-class towns spread from Fayetteville down to the South Carolina border.
Read the full article at The American Prospect.
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My views on the issue aside, "2,041 workers had voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), while just 1,879 had voted against it."
Hah! Take that! 1,879 is such a low number compared to 2,041! It's like, 10 people voted for it, while just 9 voted against it!
Seriously, though, what's up with that language?
This is very inspiring!
As a resident in NC for 8 years - in the "piedmont triad" region, I'll have to research a bit, but I haven't heard about any of this. Not surprising (unfortunately)...I hope this opens the doors for unions in the state. I've heard MANY negative thoughts about "those ol' unions" in general from people.
And in a state like this (that BARELY went blue for the 2008 election) - unfortunately any majority 2041: 1879 or 10:9 is something - although, I'd like to know what the vote counts were in previous elections to see how big the reversal actually was.
Side note: While I am truly excited for the workers, the idea of slaughtering 32,000 animals/day bothers me. But it does provide jobs, no doubt, many people buy the products, and FINALLY the workers will hopefully begin getting the compensation and benefits they deserve. Sorry that I am typing out my rationalization process... :)
I, too, am sympathetic to (and happy for) the workers, but industrial agriculture is a very hard thing to justify.
And while health and safety for the workers is briefly mentioned, I think it's important to mention that health and safety for the animals (and subsequently, those who eat the animals) is hardly ever addressed.
Not to sound preachy, but industrial agriculture is one of the top contributors to environmental devastation and a key factor in global warming, and hog farms like this one pollute our waterways with massive amounts of unhealthy manure runoff.
I just don't think these facts should go unmentioned.
Thanks for the TAP link. I heard the news last month and was delighted; we'd been boycotting Smithfield bacon because of the company's union-busting.