Union Organizers at So. Poultry Plants(after woman says no bathroom break)

[DeepModem Mom]

New York Times:
Union Organizers at Poultry Plants in South Find Newly Sympathetic Ears
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: September 6, 2005


MORRISTOWN, Tenn. - Hour after hour, Antonia Lopez Paz said, her supervisor at the Koch Foods poultry plant here told women on the deboning line that production demands were so great that they could not go to the bathroom.

Sometimes she developed acute pain because she could not go, Ms. Lopez said. And one time when another woman asked for permission, "the supervisor took off his hard hat and told her, 'You can go to the bathroom in this,' " said Ms. Lopez, a Mexican immigrant who moved to this town in East Tennessee three years ago, lured by the company's promise of year-round work.

Out of her solitary complaint has grown a thriving unionization drive that fits neatly into the plans of several insurgent unions that hope to revive the labor movement by focusing on low-wage workers and immigrant workers.

"We believe there is a need for a union to come in and help these workers," said Joe Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers, which is organizing workers at the two Koch Foods plants here. "The conditions in some of these places are criminal, especially in the way they treat undocumented workers, and it's criminal that they often get away with it."

This summer Mr. Hansen's union joined the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union in breaking away from the A.F.L.-C.I.O., with those three unions promising to devote far more energy to recruiting workers than the rest of organized labor has. Two organizing drives aimed at poultry workers - one in this old factory town and the other in Russellville, Ala. - are among the early battles in this effort to reinvigorate labor....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/06/national/06labor.html

[liberal N proud]

1. This is where America is headed if labor unions are obliterated

as the bu$h regime are trying.
Literal sweat shops.

[DBoon]

7. Back to "The Jungle"

We have regressed 100 years in working conditions and labor relations

[Demeter]

2. Good!

The pain is getting to the point that people will turn to real solutions for real problems, in spite of "political correctness, GOP style," TV, or the right-wing christo-fascist spin machines.

[LostinVA]

3. Remember, court cases have said this is okay

You don't have to let people use the bathroom: not to pee, if you have diarrhea, if you need to change a tampon. Too bad. Some of these workers wear Depends. It's disgusting. And inhumane.

[Mizmoon]

6. I worked in an office where they did this to data entry people

I tried to put a stop to it but the other managers didn't support me so there was nothing I could do.

It's a horrid thing to do to an adult.

[LostinVA]

10. It's totally degrading

[booksenkatz]

4. She should've shit in the supervisor's hat.

After all, it was his suggestion.

[raccoon]

5. If you've never heard of the Hamlet, NC fire at a chicken

processing plant, google "Hamlet, NC" and "fire." This sounds like something that would happen in a third-world country.

" Witnesses, at the scene, described
panicked workers as screaming, "Let me out!....Let me out!", as they tried to kick open doors that were reportedly
padlocked by the plant management to prevent vandalism and theft. Footprint indentations were evident on the inside of at least one door, that was seen to be locked from the outside."

http://www.emergency.com/nc-fire.htm

I hope they will successfully unionize.

Why so many people--WORKING PEOPLE--in the South are so anti-union I will never understand.

[DBoon]

8. Time for a boycott

Is Koch foods a regional brand? Who sells the chicken produced at this plant?

[DeepModem Mom]

11. Here's its website:

Quality, service with a focus on value — Koch Foods is the preferred supplier of fresh and frozen poultry products for food service and retail operators across the nation and around the world.
To help our customers meet the growing demand for chicken, we've implemented state-of-the-art processes for growing, preparing, packaging and distributing chicken. Our customers come to us for our unparalleled focus on operational efficiency and our ability to meet all their quality and service needs:

- Reliable supply, even as demand fluctuates
- A boundless variety of products
- Flexible packaging and labeling options
- Customized flavors and covering systems
- Steadfast food safety
- Value

http://www.kochfoods.com/

[aquart]

9. Koch?

Any link to the Bush sister who married a Koch?