| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 2, 1999 |
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TRUTH SQUAD TARGETS ALBERTVILLE TYSON PLANT On Wednesday, January 27th the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), Local 227 is stepping up its pressure on Tyson. Striking workers from the Tyson plant in Corydon, Indiana have joined "Truth Squads," named for their commitment to speak the truth to consumers, workers, and the community about conditions in many plants and to get the truth about working conditions from plant workers in other facilities. The Truth Squad is a key part of UFCW's efforts to build a movement among all Tyson workers to demand justice from the poultry and food processing giant. Appearing at 12:00 noon at the Tyson Foods processing plant at 6600 Highway 431 in Albertville, Alabama, the Truth Squad will announce it's plan to reach consumers, workers, and the community about worsening conditions in the poultry industry and the greed-driven efforts by corporate giants such as Tyson to push wages and conditions to Third World levels. Supporters across the Midwest are asking consumers not to buy Tyson products until the Corydon workers have a fair contract by hand billing grocery stores and places of worship. The Truth Squad has targeted the Tyson plant in Albertville because like the Tyson plant in Corydon, workers feel that Tyson management has been stripping away their rights and making their workplace conditions worse. The more than 250 poultry workers in Corydon, Indiana were forced on strike over management demands to eliminate paid breaks for workers, reduce overtime pay rates, and gut contract protections. When fully staffed, the plant processes more than 600,000 chickens a week or over 2,000 birds per worker per week. With $7.5 billion in sales and $345.8 million in operating profit, Tyson is three times larger than its closest competitors. Average wages at the Indiana plant, $7.68 an hour, are more than a dollar an hour less than industry average. The workers, mostly local residents and long term employees, put up picket lines at the plant on January 3, 1999, in their fight to preserve dignity and a decent standard of living at the Corydon plant. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union: A Voice for Working America |
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