"There's Blood On That Bacon"

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

DC immigrant rights groups will help kick off a national campaign against the nation’s largest pork processing plant this Thursday (see Calendar for details). Immigrant and African American workers are fighting against sweatshop conditions at Smithfield Packing in North Carolina. “This is a chance to say no to a racist, anti-immigrant company that feels they can terrorize workers at will,” says Reverend Grayland Hagler. “We are issuing a moral appeal to consumers and supermarkets to think twice about purchasing Smithfield products from that plant. We are telling people to say no to blood on their bacon.” A diverse coalition of groups will join UFCW President Joe Hansen for a rally followed by leafleting at area metro stops and supermarkets. Smithfield has been found liable in several National Labor Relations Board and Federal Court decisions for assaulting, intimidating, threatening with deportation and unlawfully firing employees during attempts to form a union.  Two reports by the internationally respected organization, Human Rights Watch, have documented widespread violations of basic human and labor rights.  Workers cite dangerous and unsafe conditions, including blinding line speeds that leave many workers permanently disabled. Employees are routinely fired when they are injured, workers report.