Tell Tyson Meatpackers: "You Are Not Alone"

Information in this alert comes from Andy Levin, Director of the Voice@Work Campaign of the AFL-CIO.
Posted February 12, 2005

In this alert:

1. Background on abuses at Tyson plant in Pasco , Wash.
2. Send a letter of support to meatpackers

Background on abuses at Tyson plant in Pasco , Wash.

More than 1,500 meatpacking workers at a Tyson Foods plant in Pasco , Wash. , urgently need your help. Workers at Tyson, such as Luciano Antonio Sanchez from Walla Walla , Wash. , perform some of the most dangerous jobs in America at breakneck speeds. Tyson Foods Inc. is the world's largest producer of beef, pork and chicken products, with projected 2004 revenue of more than $27 billion, up from $24.5 billion in 2003.

Human Rights Watch has recently issued a report about the entire U.S. meatpacking industry that spotlights Tyson Foods for failing to meet basic safety measures. The Washington State Department of Labor fined Tyson's Pasco plant last year for allowing conditions "they knew [were] dangerous and didn't do anything" about.

Tyson has launched a campaign to convince the workers to get rid of their union, Teamsters Local 556. From one-on-one intimidation meetings with supervisors to continuous mandatory group meetings against the union and a flood of anti-worker literature throughout the plant, these Tyson workers are under extreme pressure leading into their National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) vote next week.

Take a moment right now to tell the Tyson workers you support their right to decide for themselves whether or not to keep their union, Teamsters Local 556, in an environment free from harassment, intimidation and coercion.

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/TysonPasco/8k7ubdrq7t8wbw

At the Pasco plant, an estimated 80 percent of the workers are Latino and more than 50 percent are women. These workers suffer from repetitive stress injuries because they make the same cutting motion thousands of times a shift at rapid line speeds. Lacerations and amputations can occur.

Workers need a say in their job safety conditions to protect the working environment at the Pasco from getting worse. That is why it is critical these Tyson workers know they have broad support from the community and they understand we all have a stake in this campaign.

Workers need a v oice at work not only to bargain for basic job safety standards, living wages and health care coverage for their families, but also to press the company to avoid working conditions that can jeopardize the safety of the food Tyson produces.

Send a letter of support to meatpackers

Please offer the Tyson workers your support by clicking on the link below right now:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/TysonPasco/8k7ubdrq7t8wbw