| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 2, 2000 |
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Perdue Chicken Catchers Petition Labor Board for Union Election More than 150 Perdue chicken catchers on the Eastern Shore are standing up for their rights on the job. The catchers already endure excruciatingly long hours, back breaking labor and a choking stench of ammonia when they clock in to work for Perdue. Now, the company has unveiled its latest scheme to evade U.S. labor law and dash catchers' hopes for a better life by announcing an unprecedented shift to chicken catching machines. The catchers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a chance to vote for a voice on the job with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 27 on May 31, 2000. Grocery store customers in the four state area have been greeted by catchers and their supporters with literature that asks customers to call or email Perdue about respecting the rights of their workers. Consumer and community pressure has clearly turned up the heat on the poultry giant. Hours after receiving notice of the union petition, Perdue announced yesterday a plan to shift all chicken catching to new machines. The company's plan is unquestionably designed to intimidate and retaliate against workers for standing up for their rights on the job. Consider that: No other poultry producer relies on machines as the primary means to catch chickens. Tyson Foods, the world's largest poultry company that dominates the poultry market, uses human labor to catch its chicken. Every major poultry producer relies on human labor to catch chickens because it is faster, more efficient and safer than any automated system. Catching machines cause undue suffering, and in many cases, death to the chickens. Most poultry companies are not willing to risk killing chickens rather than catching them, unlike Perdue. "Perdue is retaliating against their workers who have stood up for their rights. The machines won't work, Perdue knows it. The UFCW will fight right along side the catchers to see that they get the chance to vote in an NLRB election and get a voice on the job," said Buddy Mays, President of UFCW Local 27. One catcher said, "I've worked with the machines. It takes twice as long to catch half as many chickens. And lots of the chickens get spooked by the machine and fly around -- getting killed in the fans. It's a bad way to catch chickens." Another worker reported, "I've been sent to farms after my regular shift to catch all the chickens that the machine didn't get. They don't work very well." The UFCW, with 1.5 million members, is the largest poultry worker organization in the U.S. and represents poultry plant workers and catchers throughout the country. -30- |
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