And the Muslim takeover of America marches on

[Teresa]

Plant Drops Labor Day For Muslim Holiday
More Than Half Of Tyson Plant's Workforce Muslim

POSTED: 12:18 pm CDT August 1, 2008
UPDATED: 3:06 am CDT August 2, 2008


SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. -- Some workers at a local plant will no longer to be able to take their Labor Day holiday because of religious reasons.

Survey: Drop Labor Day? | Scroll Below To Post Your Comments | Video 

Workers at the Tyson Foods poultry processing plant in Shelbyville will no longer have a paid day off on Labor Day but will instead be granted the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.

According to a news release from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, a new five-year contract at the plant included the change to accommodate Muslim workers at the plant.

Tyson's director of media relations Gary Mickelson said the contract includes eight paid holidays -- the same number as the old contract.

Eid al-Fitr -- which falls on Oct. 1 this year -- marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.

Union leaders said implementing the holiday was important for the nearly 700 Muslims, many of them Somalis, who work at the plant that employs a total of 1,200 people.

Nineteen-year plant veteran William Pentecost doesn't agree with the decision.

"I don't think it's right. I really don't think it's right," he said.

Tyson company spokeswoman Libby Lawson said by phone that, "This isn't a religious accommodation, this is a contractual agreement. The majority asked for it."

The change didn't bother some workers.

"I think it's fine. I don't have any problem with it. There's a whole bunch of them here, so they've got to do something for them," said worker John Smith.

"It shouldn't happen. I mean, I think, we're in America, you're in America, I think that they should go with our holidays," Pentecost said.

Channel 4's Cynthia Williams could not reach any of the plant's Muslim workers, because Channel 4 News' crew was not permitted on the property.

Former employee and Shelbyville resident Anthony Proctor said he thinks what's happening is wrong.

He said he helped build a special Muslim prayer room that's located inside the plant and that no other Tyson facility has been that accommodating for any other religion.

"If we want to go pray, we don't have one for Christians," he said.

Tyson is headquartered in Arkansas.

Lawson said they consider religious accommodations on a case-by-case basis. She said that so far, no one has asked for any other type of religious prayer room.

No one at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union's regional office answered phone calls placed by Williams on Friday.

A representative in New York said that no one there knew specifics about the new contract with the workers, but a person in research told Williams that holidays aren't usually replaced and are more likely to be added on.

The decision will only apply to workers at the plant who are union members. All other employees at the plant will still have their normal Labor Day holiday.

http://www.wsmv.com/news/17063986/detail.html

[sixdogsmom]

Shouldn't this really be under religion? There is nothing political here, just about a religion.

[dnalexander]

When you join a union and let them negotiate the contract you get the good and the bad that you as union members vote to approve. If you truly believe in freedom and the right of people to practice religion then you should have no problem with this. To call this  a muslim takeover is ridiculous. The Union negotiated and approved this I call that the American way. Sad to see the political forum continue to turn into a tabloid newspaper.

David

[Teresa]

I do have a problem with it..
sorry........

And I didn't get it from a 'tabloid".. And I didn't write it.. nor did I title it.

[dnalexander]

Union members approved it. Sounds democratic to me. Said I am sorry to see this political forum turn into a tabloid, and never referred to you at all.

David

[Catwoman]

David, you are correct...the sanitizing of the American culture, to make it politcally correct for the largest majority, is indeed the American way these days.  However, I would counter that with the observation that I don't see any reference to any chapel for the Christians onsite at Tyson, whereas the plant put in a prayer room for the Islamics (probably a safety concern with so many kneeling bodies five times per day, but still...).  If the Islamics are allowed to have their religious holiday, then the Christians should be allowed to bring a religious holiday for themselves...maybe All Saints Day?  St. Christopher's Day?  And, no, this isn't a religious issue...it's an issue of the fact that, in our effort to not step on any toes in this country, we are giving away pieces of our national identity (and NO, we are not an Islamic state...we were founded on Christian principals)...my concern is that we will eventually give away so much of our national identity, in the name of political correctness, that we will lose the ability to withstand the external pressures put on this country...and we will eventually be taken over by those with a stronger will than we possess.  "You have to stand for something or you'll fall for anything" has a particular ring to it at this point, IMO.

[Diane Amberg]

Ok, so who canceled Christmas when I wasn't looking? Around here, where we have a lot of everything and everybody, it is very common for people to swap holidays with each other. Jewish folks will work on Christmas. They can take off for Yom Kippur and some one will take their shift. Others often work out the same way for other High Holidays. I don't know of anybody installing a prayer room, but as long as the work gets done it wouldn't bother me. When I was in school, the cafeteria never had meat on Friday in deference to the Catholic kids. We always had mac&cheese or fish. That certainly didn't bother me. Our national pendulum swings back and forth through the years and sometimes it does swing too far toward one way or another. The Irish, Poles, Jews and many others have had their turn at the bottom. Many years ago I remember public service adds on early TV, admonishing people not to discriminate against people who's name ended in "ski."Also about that time our area had a big influx of Italian Catholics....The local Irish Catholics hated them. The Mexicans felt superior to the Puerto Ricans. Look what happened to the local Japanese Americans during WWII...but we didn't round up people with German Heritage. We as Americans sure can do strange things sometimes. Maybe we shouldn't watch so much TV.

[greatguns]

I think you are on to something Diane.

[Teresa]

The really humorous irony is that the labor union gave up Labor Day in a quest for political correctness.

The decision will only apply to workers at the plant who are union members. All other employees at the plant will still have their normal Labor Day holiday. 

How many of those 700 Somalis are union members?  Maybe the union's move was less PC and more strategic...

And the real question is how many of the Muslims are LEGAL? Like the food processor the Feds raided the other day, I bet most are illegal and the suits just turn a blind eye to it.
Most likely the legal immigrant (probably connected with refugee/political asylum initiatives) Somalis were hired to replace illegal Hispanics that the threat of enforcement forced elsewhere.

I have a friend who replied to me and I will quote Ron...
"I know Dick Bond (Tyson CEO) and would bet he is none to _____ happy with this but probably has his ______ in the fire to do it.  Possibly a tough labor market but would bet they are trying to dump the workers behind this.  As well, my understanding is that Don Tyson who has stepped down from day-to-day operations, is a born-again Christian. "

Just my input on it.......

[pam]

it's a slippery slope............this is a stupid question I suppose...but why do they need a special room to pray in? I mean really. If they feel the need to pray do it on the line like the rest of us always did and do, you don't have to go flop around on the floor to pray