This is rather startling. We’re used to seeing this kind of stuff happening in Europe, not places like Shelbyville, TN:
Workers at Tyson Foods’ poultry processing plant in Shelbyville will no longer have a paid day off on Labor Day, but will instead take the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in the fall.
A recent press release from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) stated that a new contract at the Shelbyville facility “implements a new holiday to accommodate the … Muslim workers at the plant.”
The RWDSU stated that “the five-year contract creates an additional paid holiday, Iidal Fitil, a Muslim holiday that occurs toward the end of Ramadan.”
-Snip-
The press release stated there are approximatly 700 Muslims working at Tyson, but Mickelson said that Somalis only represent approximately 250 of the 1,200 employed at the plant, a little over 20 percent of the workforce.
“All Team Members who have completed their probationary period are eligible for all eight paid holidays including Eid al-Fitr,” the Tyson spokeman said.
The union also claimed that in addition to the observance of the Muslim holiday, “two prayer rooms have been created to allow Muslim workers to pray twice a day and return to work without leaving the plant.”
Mickelson said that Shelbyville’s Tyson plant “does have a prayer room to accommodate the needs of Muslim Team Members.”
Other paid holidays at Tyson include:
The Team Member’s birthday, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
The comment section at The Shelbyville Times Gazette appears to be 100% appalled by the decision of the plant to replace a Federal holiday with a Muslim one.
Tyson may be facing a major boycott in the near future.
Hat tip Weasel Zippers
UPDATE:
Anyone wondering why there are so many Somalis working at Tyson in TN? Let Atlas Shrugs explain how Refuge Resettlement works.
UPDATE II:
Tyson and the Union have reached a new agreement.
This is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.
Why the hell not keep Labor Day as a work holiday and let the few Muslims take their day off if they were bitching about it?
Someone in the Tyson executive suite needs a bitch slapping for this policy.
Idiots.
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Tyson Chicken is dead to me. I hope they really lose business over this, either that or their apparently largely non-muslim staff refuses to come in on Labor Day.
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It appears that it’s the union that made the change, not Tyson.
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Gary Mickelson, Tyson’s media chief, said at the union’s request the company agreed to discontinue the Labor Day holiday and implement Eid al-Fitr.
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Never to buy a tyson product again. What empty suit dumb ass thought this up?
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Gary Mickelson, Tyson’s media chief, said at the union’s request the company agreed to discontinue the Labor Day holiday and implement Eid al-Fitr.
Exactly. It was part of the negotiation of their new contract. Tyson agreed, but it’s the union’s agenda that’s at fault, not Tyson’s.
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I will NEVER by a Tyson product as long as this is in effect.
I don’t eat a lot of beef sticking mainly to chicken. I will now see what other products Tyson sells to make sure I don’t buy any of them.
Anyone know an address we can mail our complaints to?
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it’s the union’s agenda that’s at fault, not Tyson’s.
Tyson didn’t have to agree to it.
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I can not believe that Tyson would allow this. As far as I’m concern, I will now only purchase Perdue Chicken not Tyson!!
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What floors me is that an American labor union would want to give up Labor Day for a Muslim holiday.
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Tyson didn’t have to agree to it.
That was probably an easy point to give on, compared to things that actually cost Tyson money.
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But it was still wrong.
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A company does not have to abide by union decisions if it’s against company policies. Tyson Chicken is not an option as far as my food purchases are concerned. If they go belly up so-be-it.
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This is such a typical sign of the cultural damage brought on by certain small but well-organized whiney groups. Tyson continually cost shifts their social costs to the taxpayer through their insidious use of illegal alien workers and sub-standard wages and now this. In an era when it is politically expedient to destroy the Christian roots of this nation, I’m surprised they didn’t supplant Christmas Day with this silly islamic so-called holiday. This only continues as long as the vast majority of us sane citizens allow it to through our complacency.
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Please contact Tyson today!
Tyson Foods, Inc.
P.O. Box 2020
Springdale, AR 72764-6999
Telephone: 1-800-643-3410
Consumer Relations CP631
2210 West Oaklawn Drive
Springdale, AR 72764-6999
http://www.tyson.com/Recipes/Contact/Contact.aspx
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This is just the tip of what we as AMERICANS can expect if OBAMA is elected! Please his is as much a MUSLIN as the 911 hyjackers.PLEASE DON’T ELECT THIS PERSON!!
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Moby?
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Or someone doing a bad Spurwing imitation.
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Pingback: Well, Well, Well: Tyson Brings Back Labor Day « Nice Deb
This is the stupidest thing I have heard. Don’t buy either perdue or tyson chicken.look at they way the raise their chicken in FOOD INC. Documentary. Noone should be eating any of either of there prodocts
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The next step is to get into the union to change policy. My husband saw this at Teamsters when he worked for them.
Muslims got into the union area to change what they wanted changed. And if they put a muslim prayer room in I would demand they give me the same thing. I would go into the prayer room they had for the muslims and start praying out loud and not make any bones about who I am praying to, too. Wanna see change. I know how to pray and I know how to get results. I am not praying against the people, but the presence that works through people. If you want to know what I mean please ask! You had better know your God, because Obama is a Muslim and all his cronies are Muslims. If you don’t like what I am saying, just wait until January. You will see so much change it will chap your eyes. I just hope you see the truth because there are a lot of people with their heads n the sand.
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