On July 19th managers at Smithfield's Tar Heel plant refused entry to a delegation of civil rights and religious leaders, forcing them to stand outside in the 100 degree North Carolina heat for an hour before escorting them off company property—evcn though they had been invited to meet with company officials!
The group had an appointment to meet with plant managers to discuss the treatment of workers, but when they arrived, a company spokesman demanded that they relocate to what he called a "neutral" site to conduct their meeting, apparently concerned that the presence of the delegation would encourage workers to speak out against plant conditions and injury rates.
When the delegation declined to move off site, Smithfield officials refused to allow them inside the plant, keeping them in the parking lot for an hour before calling security to escort them off the premises.
The delegation was made up of a handful of North Carolina's best known and respected voices of faith and civil rights, including North Carolina NAACP President William J. Barber, Rev. John Mendez of the National Council of Churches, Rev. Nelson Johnson from Interfaith Worker Justice, Rev. Joyce Hollyday from Word and World, and Rev. Gaston Warner of Duke Chapel, a Methodist divinity school.
During the standoff, the delegation was joined by more than one hundred additional religious and lay leaders, who were in the area for a social justice conference. Hearing about the actions of Smithfield managers, the group changed their afternoon plans, turning out to stand alongside the delegates and demand that Smithfield leaders uphold their promise to the faith and civil rights leaders.
NC NAACP President William J. Barber, Rev. Nelson Johnson, and NAACP Branch President Jackie McClaine wait in the heat.
Workers wearing Smithfield-sponsored anti-union T-shirts sign union cards during shift change. Workers complain that they feel pressured by managers to wear the orange shirts.
Supporters gather across the street.
The Council of Churches of Greater Washington, a coalition of 75 area churches, passed a resolution condemning Smithfield Foods for creating an environment of intimidation and fear for workers and encourages its congregants to take direct action by not purchasing Smithfield products and contacting the company. Click for a copy of the resolution in html or as a pdf.
DC City Council introduces resolution condemning Smithfield Foods for creating an environment of intimidation and fear for workers and encourages all supermarkets and vendors in DC from stocking Smithfield meat products. Click for a copy of the resolution in html or as a pdf.
The August '08 issue of Business North Carolina features a cover story on the Justice@Smithfield campaign. Read the article in html or as a pdf.
New York Times columnist Adam Liptak discusses the lawsuit against Justice@Smithfield and the First Amendment. Read the column.
Fayetteville Observer: "Ruling forbids Smithfield Packing using threats"
The March '08 cover story in Labor Notes asks, "Is Fighting for Justice at Smithfield Racketeering?"
Smithifield's Tar Heel workers win a paid Martin Luther King Holiday. Read the press release.
Avram Lyon says when he sees Paula Deen on TV, "all I can think of are the people working under horrible conditions at Smithfield." Read his article in the Forward.
Breast Cancer foundation sues Smithfield Foods for trademark violation.
Read Justice@Smithifield's statement on the U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit court ruling on Smithfield.
The final quarter of Paula Deen's hour-long appearence on NPR's Diane Rehm Show Nov. 28 was dominated by questions over her association with Smithfield Foods. Listen to the show using Windows Media Viewer or Real Player.
On Thursday, November 8, 2007, activists with the Western Massachusetts Jobs With Justice organized a protest outside a brand new Big Y supermarket in Northampton. Read More.
On September 12, the Bergen County (NJ) Central Trades and Labor Council passed a resolution calling on Smithfield to "[o]bey the law, by providing a safe workplace, giving Smithfield workers the right to chose a union...free from interferene of any kind."
On August 6, Smithfield Tar Heel plant worker Jose Ozorio Figueroa was terminated. Company representatives claim it was for showing up four minutes late to his shift, but Ozorio believes that he was fired for his union activities. Read his statement.
Presidential Master Chef Talli V. Counsel asks celebrity chef Paula Deen to use her influence to end the “brutal working conditions” at Smithfield’s Tar Heel Plant. Read more.
On August 1, 2007, the City of Boston passed a resolution calling on the city to "review its purchasing of any products from the Smithfield Packing Company in Tar Heel, North Carolina....and suspend these purchases until the company ends all form of abuse, inimidation and violence against its workers..." It also encourages Boston supermarkets "to consider suspending their purchase of any Smithfield products..."
On Saturday, July 14, dozens of Nashville clergy, civil rights leaders and consumers rallied to demand that two area supermarkets to stop stocking Smithfield Foods pork products made at the company’s Tar Heel plant. Read more.
More than 100 supporters rallied in front of a Publix supermarket in Atlanta to demand that the market stop carrying pork products from Smithfield's Tar Heel plant. Read More.
More than 250 family members and supporters of Smithfield Workers delivered a Father’s Day Card to Harris Teeter’s president. Read the news coverage [With Video].
On June 4, the City of Cambridge, MA unanimously passed a resolution in support Smithfield workers in Tar Heel. Read the historic resolution.
Children of Smithfield workers will deliver a Father's Day card to Harris Teeter's PresidentDownload the flyer.
Jim Hightower: Paula Deen "has cooked up a big ol' mess of political controversy for herself." Read the story.
