September-October 2005

Strategies from the Streets

Meatpacking plant gets a swift kick
by Anna Galovich, organizer Latinos En Accion de CCI

Imagine that you’ve worked for a company for 10 years. You are a loyal, dues paying union member who has never had problems with your supervisors. One day you go on vacation. Two days into it you are in a very bad car accident – your car flips over and falls over 30 feet - you are lucky to be alive. It takes you a while to get better, but you have notified your job about your accident and it’s your understanding that the company will help you fill out any necessary paperwork when you get back.

But you’re wrong – when you get back, they fire you and your spouse, who also left work to care for you right after your accident. You are told by company management that you are lying and that you “quit” because you had three unexcused absences. You go to the union for help. Your union representative says the company has been trying to get rid of you anyway and there is no use in fighting to get your job back. Everyone is against you - what would you do?

Hilda and Raúl Rodríguez, two members of Latinos en Acción de CCI (a chapter of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement) decided to organize. Sparked by their fighting spirit, Latinos en Acción de CCI has launched a full-scale campaign against Swift and Company meatpacking plant in Marshalltown, Iowa. Swift, like many U.S. meatpacking plants has a track record of unsafe working conditions, and using unjust intimidation tactics to keep employees from reporting illegal working conditions. Many Latinos en Acción de CCI members have been fired unjustly because they were injured, because they spoke out and defended their rights, or because Swift simply didn’t want them around any more!

When Hilda and Raúl were fired we weren’t surprised, but we were ready.

The couple had covered all their bases. They had letters from doctors about the accident, a newspaper article about the accident with pictures of Raúl and his daughter being carried away by ambulances, and a ruling from Iowa unemployment saying that they indeed did not “quit.” We had all the ingredients for a widespread information campaign.

We started by compiling an information packet that included a timeline of events, starting with the accident and ending with the unemployment ruling, copies of medical documents that proved Raúl was injured, and copies of the newspaper article and pictures. We sent out letters signed by Raúl to both Swift and the labor union stating Raúl and Hilda were fired unjustly and wanted to proceed with a grievance procedure. On top of the letters, we made bright yellow postcards addressed to the general manager at Swift asking him for “Justice for Raúl and Hilda” and a meeting with us and other community groups to sure that what happened to the Rodríguez family never happens to another Swift employee.

We kicked off our campaign during a regular public meeting with Iowa legislators. A Latinos en Acción de CCI member was on the agenda to speak about jobs and immigrants. We took the time to layout Raúl and Hilda’s story and to ask legislators and the public to sign our yellow postcards. At the end of the evening, we had over 60 postcards signed and ready to send out. A week after we started sending out the postcards, Raúl and Hilda had a meeting with Swift management. Raúl and Hilda showed Swift representatives all of their documentation proving the accident and medical treatment.

When asked what they wanted, the couple said they wanted their jobs back, but with the promise that they wouldn’t be harassed or retaliated against after reinstatement. Negotiations with the company are still going on.

We’ve also meet with representatives of the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Members of Latinos en Acción de CCI told an OSHA consultant about problems with working conditions at the Swift plant in Marshalltown. The goal of the meeting was to lay the groundwork for a partnership between OSHA and Latinos en Acción de CCI. In the meeting, OSHA agreed to work with Latinos en Acción de CCI members to make Swift a safer place to work.

A Des Moines Register columnist has written about Raul and Hilda and additional news coverage will be coming through Spanish-language media. Media coverage is taking the campaign to a much broader audience and putting a spotlight on what Swift is doing. It can help us build additional support for our campaign beyond workers at the plant involved and embarrass Swift. Press coverage is also a signal to company officials that we don’t plan to keep quiet.

Swift has been invited to a Dec. 6 public meeting where pastors and other influential local people will demand justice for Raul and Hilda. The battle hasn’t been won yet, but with courageous leaders, solid organizing and strong alliances, the campaign is moving forward. We’re determined to force the company to listen to its employees and take concrete steps to better working conditions at the plant. Swift is in for one hell of a fight!