Major Rally for Smithfield Workers Wednesday

Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Danny Glover and Susan Sarandon will add their voice to hundreds at a demonstration this Wednesday in Williamsburg, VA to support Smithfield workers fighting for the right to organize. Despite 12 years of employer opposition – including assaults, intimidation, firings and racial insults during two previous union elections – and Wednesday’s suspiciously timed raids, workers at the Smithfield pork processing plant in Tar Heel, NC continue to fight for union recognition. Last Wednesday morning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested dozens of workers in raids at the Smithfield plant and at workers’ homes, reports the Associated Press. “This attack on immigrant workers and the communities affected by these raids is an attempt to sabotage our solidarity movement,” says Smithfield Justice Campaign National Field Director Rigoberto Valdez. A similar raid and the firing of 50 workers in January led to a walkout of 1,000 workers at the plant, the Associated Press reports. Human Rights Watch and OSHA have also documented widespread dangerous working conditions in the plant. "This is a fight about real families and real lives,” said Reverend William Barber, head of the North Carolina State NAACP. “It's about workers who are tired of being injured and then discarded, unable to work again or support their families," Barber said. The event will also feature large puppets, music, and a large letter signed by thousands demanding the company negotiate with the workers and the union. In related news, Boston city officials voted last week to stop purchasing Smithfield pork products in support of workers, reported the UFCW Thursday. Officials also urged supermarkets in the area to halt sales of Smithfield pork.