| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 21, 2001 |
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Food and Commerical Workers Union Calls for Quick Settlement of Charges Against Tyson Foods The 1.4 million member United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), the largest union of poultry and food processing workers in the country, called for a quick settlement of a federal indictment against Tyson Foods that alleges certain company managers engaged in the smuggling of undocumented workers into the United States. According to UFCW President Doug Dority, the employment of undocumented workers is widespread in the poultry, packing, processing and other manufacturing industries. Immigrant labor has always been the backbone of jobs in these industries--- jobs that are often difficult, dangerous and low paying. Past generations of immigrants had the opportunity to become citizens and to have access to the American dream. Now, according to Dority, we must find a way to help this new generation of immigrants obtain legal status and ultimately citizenship. "A quick and fair settlement of the indictment of Tyson Foods can set us on the path of correcting the problems faced by immigrant workers, rather than just engaging in punishment," said Dority. The potential fines against Tyson could compromise the financial viability of the company and lead to widespread job loss. The UFCW would like to see a remedial rather than a punitive approach. The union is calling for the establishment, with funding provided by Tyson Foods as part of the settlement of the indictment, of joint labor-management committees to deal, on both a national and local level, with issues surrounding the employment of immigrant labor. "We must make sure that every worker understands U.S. workplace rights, that every employer understands its obligations under labor and immigration laws including the rights of workers, and that these workers are being integrated into their community," said Dority. Dority believes that requiring funding to help solve the problem is the better course of action than fines levied simply to punish. The key to the future, however, according to the UFCW leader, is legislative action to provide an orderly process of legalization. Undocumented workers are often imported because they can be more easily exploited and can be prevented from using the protections of workplace laws by threats of deportation. Legalization of the current workforce can break the pattern of exploitation. "These workers have been doing the hard and often dangerous work of putting food on the table for American families for more than a decade. They go to work every day, they pay their taxes and contribute to Social Security, they raise their families and they are essential workers to the food industries. They have earned the opportunity for legalization. The time to act is now," said Dority. |
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