Company with Balls: Meatpacking plant fires workers that miss work to attend protest

[insein]

Warning! Liberal whining and crybabying is present in the following article. Please use all neccessary precautions to prevent head trauma. Firmly secure the duct tape around your skull before reading.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060411/NEWS01/604110328/1120/RSS

Immigrants' firing leads to protest
15 women lose jobs after attending rally; manager says they were warned

April 11, 2006

A manager at a Detroit meatpacking plant said Monday that 15 immigrant women were fired last month after attending a protest for immigrant rights. He said they had been told that they would be terminated if they missed work on the day of the protest.

But the workers and an activist working on their behalf said the women were given no such assurances. If the workers knew they would have been fired for attending the March 27 rally in Detroit, they never would have skipped the morning shift, said Elena Herrada, a Detroit activist who is trying to help the women get their jobs back.

Herrada and about 20 union officials went Monday to Wolverine Packing Co. offices on Rivard to inquire about what happened. They were given a letter signed by general manager Jay Bonahoom, explaining why the workers were terminated.

Meanwhile Monday, marches were held in Washington, D.C., Atlanta and other cities to protest proposed changes in immigration rules. On Sunday, hundreds gathered at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Detroit.

Some of the Wolverine workers were undocumented, Herrada and one of the workers said, and wanted to march in the Detroit rally to show their support for immigrant rights.

Tens of thousands of people, mostly Latinos, protested legislation that would make it a crime to help undocumented immigrants. The next morning, when the women reported to work for their shifts as meat cutters, a supervisor told them to clean out their lockers and go home.

Bonahoom said that as far as Wolverine knows, the workers were documented, but an employment agency does the actual hiring. He said the workers had been told, "written and verbally," on the Friday before the protests that their attendance was mandatory on the day of the protest.

They were fired "for standing up for their rights," Herrada said.

The fired workers were natives of Mexico and many had worked at the plant for several years. Most have children and are worried about supporting their families, Herrada said.

Many were employed by Minuteman Staffing. So when Wolverine wanted to fire the workers, the meatpacking company told Minuteman to let go of the workers, he said. A manager with Minuteman said he couldn't comment on the case.

But the workers say they were treated wrongly.

"It was not fair,'" said Mercedes, a 31-year-old Detroit woman who attended the rally and was fired. "We went to fight for our rights." Mercedes is undocumented and asked that her last name not be used.

"It was really unfair of a company to do that," said Edith Castillo, head of the Detroit-based Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development.

Head explode yet? YOU HAVE NO FUCKING RIGHTS! YOU ARE NOT A CITIZEN! BECOME A CITIZEN AND YOU WILL RECEIVE RIGHTS!

 

[Avatar4321]

Unfair? What the freak. They didn't go to work. Why on earth should any company put up with an employee if they dont go to work when they are told they are supposed to?

People don't have the right to work at any job. Employers do not have to hire you. You have to earn it. Or if you really want to work, start your own company. Find a way to work for yourself. Qualify yourself. learn skills. but dont assume that people have to let you work if you arent going to be responsible.

 

[insein]

Unfair? What the freak. They didn't go to work. Why on earth should any company put up with an employee if they dont go to work when they are told they are supposed to?

People don't have the right to work at any job. Employers do not have to hire you. You have to earn it. Or if you really want to work, start your own company. Find a way to work for yourself. Qualify yourself. learn skills. but dont assume that people have to let you work if you arent going to be responsible.

That was the other side of my head exploding for the whining about not going to work. Unless you work for the government or aare a member of a powerful union, an employer can fire you for anything he damn well pleases. Thats how it should work period. If the boss comes in one day and decides he doesnt like the color pants you got on, he fires you. What can you say? Its his business. Go find another job. word will spread that the guy is nuts and will have a hard time highering. You dont whine about it being "Unfair." Life's fucking unfair. Deal with it.

 

[LOki]

Warning! Liberal whining and crybabying is present in the following article. Please use all neccessary precautions to prevent head trauma. Firmly secure the duct tape around your skull before reading.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060411/NEWS01/604110328/1120/RSS



Head explode yet? YOU HAVE NO FUCKING RIGHTS! YOU ARE NOT A CITIZEN! BECOME A CITIZEN AND YOU WILL RECEIVE RIGHTS!

Oh, but they DO have rights. Rights are not contingent upon citizenship, but rather on the condition of being--rights are bestowed by "the creator" and not the government that bestows citizenship.

Yet, there is no constitutionally protected right to skip work. There is no constutionally protected right to get work. As it turns out, the "rights" were skipping work to "fight" for were not rights at all--for citizen OR immigrants (illegal or otherwise).

Funny thing though--they did excersize their right to petition the government with their grievances without getting arrested. I see that they just take the 1st amendment for granred.

 

[dilloduck]

Oh, but they DO have rights. Rights are not contingent upon citizenship, but rather on the condition of being--rights are bestowed by "the creator" and not the government that bestows citizenship.

Yet, there is no constitutionally protected right to skip work. There is no constutionally protected right to get work. As it turns out, the "rights" were skipping work to "fight" for were not rights at all--for citizen OR immigrants (illegal or otherwise).

Funny thing though--they did excersize their right to petition the government with their grievances without getting arrested. I see that they just take the 1st amendment for granred.

I can't comment----I'm too busy trying to recover from all the economic damage caused when the "vital" Hispanic workers didn't go to work and protested instead.

 

[CSM]

Those workers were sure very careful not to give their names so they wouldn't get arrested for being in the country illegally, weren't they?

The company is no hero either in that they hired illegal aliens in the first place....

 

[The ClayTaurus]

A company with balls? Hardly. A company concerned with it's bottom line, probably. I bet you 50 bucks they replaced all those illegals with more illegals. I mean, good for a company for firing someone who doesn't show up to work (shocking idea), but they're part of the source of the problem. Both of these companies should have a shit storm thrown at them for hiring illegals.

 

[theHawk]

I'd like to hear what Ms. Herrada's arguements are for those fired workers to get hired back are. What, the company must hire those ILLEGAL workers?


We should just eliminate welfare, and stop raising minimium wage and I think we'll start seeing these jobs fill up by americans.

 

[dilloduck]

A company with balls? Hardly. A company concerned with it's bottom line, probably. I bet you 50 bucks they replaced all those illegals with more illegals. I mean, good for a company for firing someone who doesn't show up to work (shocking idea), but they're part of the source of the problem. Both of these companies should have a shit storm thrown at them for hiring illegals.

Until punishment for hiring illegals becomes universal in America companies will do whatever it takes to get the edge on the competition.

 

[insein]

A company with balls? Hardly. A company concerned with it's bottom line, probably. I bet you 50 bucks they replaced all those illegals with more illegals. I mean, good for a company for firing someone who doesn't show up to work (shocking idea), but they're part of the source of the problem. Both of these companies should have a shit storm thrown at them for hiring illegals.

In all honesty, there is no way for a company like that to know if their people are illegal. If they have a SSN and fake papers. It'd take alot of resources to PROVE that they were lieing. Most companies don't have the time or resources to do a thourough check. I just look at the sheer number of fake SSN numbers that come through the IRS for illegal Mexicans and just have to sit in disbelief. All of them apply for temporary ID numbers to receive their "Child Tax credits" for kids that arent even their's (nephews and nieces with completely different last names). None of them pay taxes after the exemptions they take. One guy even had the balls to write a letter saying that his credit was sent to the person that he stole the SSN number from and he demands it be sent to himself.

Bottomline, yea the companies can do a more thourough check, but if they come to you and show you a forged document with a real SSN and a real ID, it's hard to call them a liar based on their nationality.

 

[nosarcasm]

In all honesty, there is no way for a company like that to know if their people are illegal. If they have a SSN and fake papers. It'd take alot of resources to PROVE that they were lieing. Most companies don't have the time or resources to do a thourough check. I just look at the sheer number of fake SSN numbers that come through the IRS for illegal Mexicans and just have to sit in disbelief. All of them apply for temporary ID numbers to receive their "Child Tax credits" for kids that arent even their's (nephews and nieces with completely different last names). None of them pay taxes after the exemptions they take. One guy even had the balls to write a letter saying that his credit was sent to the person that he stole the SSN number from and he demands it be sent to himself.

Bottomline, yea the companies can do a more thourough check, but if they come to you and show you a forged document with a real SSN and a real ID, it's hard to call them a liar based on their nationality.

as a legal immigrant I have this holographic ID card that I am supposed to have on me. Otherwise they can deport my ass.

Funny that illegals dont need any papers.

 

[dilloduck]

as a legal immigrant I have this holographic ID card that I am supposed to have on me. Otherwise they can deport my ass.

Funny that illegals dont need any papers.

We hold whites to a higher standard.

 

[nosarcasm]

We hold whites to a higher standard.

racist......

 

[Hobbit]

as a legal immigrant I have this holographic ID card that I am supposed to have on me. Otherwise they can deport my ass.

Funny that illegals dont need any papers.

See, this is what isn't fair. Legal immigrants like you are what made America great. You follow the rules and obey the word of law. What's not fair is not that these whining leeches got fired for job abandonment. What's not fair is the fact that a bunch of treasonous lobbyists and politicians are more interested in pandering to a bunch of criminals who have zero respect for our laws than in protecting the rights of somebody, like you, who does it the right way. Under this system, there's really no incentive for coming here legally. It's a huge hassle all for nothing.

 

[nosarcasm]

See, this is what isn't fair. Legal immigrants like you are what made America great. You follow the rules and obey the word of law. What's not fair is not that these whining leeches got fired for job abandonment. What's not fair is the fact that a bunch of treasonous lobbyists and politicians are more interested in pandering to a bunch of criminals who have zero respect for our laws than in protecting the rights of somebody, like you, who does it the right way. Under this system, there's really no incentive for coming here legally. It's a huge hassle all for nothing.

I dont need to be recommended for not breaking the law. But since it is the exception to the rule some might be tempted.

We had a huge rally here in Boise Idaho where several thousand people demonstated for immigrant rights. ( well they meann illegals) And they brought there Mexican flags and chanted in Spanish downtown.

If you want to become an American I might sympathize with em but you need to learn English. Thats the minimum.

I dont want to legalize them because it would mean they compete for regular jobs and 12 million new illegals come in.

Self Intererest, too bad the US political cast is looking at the growing chunk of the latino vote and will sell out every last one of you on this board.

 

[dilloduck]

See, this is what isn't fair. Legal immigrants like you are what made America great. You follow the rules and obey the word of law. What's not fair is not that these whining leeches got fired for job abandonment. What's not fair is the fact that a bunch of treasonous lobbyists and politicians are more interested in pandering to a bunch of criminals who have zero respect for our laws than in protecting the rights of somebody, like you, who does it the right way. Under this system, there's really no incentive for coming here legally. It's a huge hassle all for nothing.

I think Congress needed a 2 week break to figure out if they need Hispanic votes or are simply to afraid to say no to thier demands. ( Since when did we even consider demands made by criminals ? )