Television celebrity chef Paula Deen is the public face of Smithfield Foods. Workers from Smithfield’s Tar Heel plant have repeatedly asked her to meet with them, listen to their plight, and help them bring better safety and work conditions to their plant, yet their requests have been ignored.
Three months ago, Paula even made a promise on Larry King Live that she would meet with Smithfield workers on his show, but after the taping, her people still weren’t returning phone calls or letters from the workers.
On Saturday, November 3rd, Paula will be giving a cooking demonstration at the Washington Convention Center. This is our opportunity to stand alongside the Smithfield workers, and let it be known that world is watching. Have a Heart, Paula! It ain’t all about the cooking! Meet with the Smithfield Workers!
Let us know if you're coming! Please RSVP at smithfield (at) ufcw (dot) org
10 a.m.: Meet us at SW intersection of 7th and M Streets Northwest-- at the top of the escalator at the Mt. Vernon Square-Convention Center Metro stop. We will rally until noon.
We recommend that you take public transportation to and from the Washington Convention Center as there is limited parking around the center (see below for parking ideas).
BY METRO
If traveling by Metro, the Washington Convention Center is the Mt. Vernon Square-7th St. Convention Center stop on the yellow and green lines. The top of the escalator lets off at 7th and M Streets NW--our meeting point.
BY CAR
The convention center is located between 7th and 9th Streets and N Street and Mt. Vernon Place.
From Virginia and Points South:
Take I - 495 to 395.
Take 395 north to Washington, DC.
Follow 395 north across the 14th Street Bridge.
Stay to the right lanes.
Proceed across the 14th Street Bridge to Independence Avenue.
Turn right on Independence Avenue and proceed 2 blocks to 7th Street.
Turn left on 7th Street and proceed 13 blocks to M Street NW.
From Maryland:
Take I-95 south to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (exit 22B) toward Washington.
Take the Washington exit - US 50 West (on the right).
US - 50 West becomes New York Avenue.
Proceed on New York Avenue.
Turn right on 7th Street NW and proceed 3 blocks to M Street NW
From Other Points North:
Take I-495 to I-66.
Take I-66 east to Washington, DC.
Take the Route 50/Constitution Avenue exit.
Proceed on Constitution Avenue to 7th Street.
Turn left on 7th Street.
Proceed 12 blocks on 7th Street to M Street NW
PARKING
Parking can be limited downtown there is very limited parking in and around that area. If you plan to drive, allow for plenty of time to park. A map and listing of nearby parking lots is available.
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.
