Tyson Foods backed down on it’s contract with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) to recognize Eid al-Fitr rather than Labor Day.
Labor Day Reinstated as Paid Holiday at Shelbyville, TN, Plant; Tyson Foods Requested Change from Union
Springdale, Arkansas – August 8, 2008 – Tyson Foods, Inc. announced today it has reached a new agreement with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), an American union, reinstating Labor Day as one of the designated paid holidays under the contract for covered employees in the Shelbyville, Tennessee, plant.
Tyson made this request on behalf of its Shelbyville plant employees, some of whom had expressed concern about the new contract provisions relative to paid holidays. In an effort to be responsive, Tyson asked the union to reopen the contract to address the holiday issue, and the union agreed to do so. The union membership voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reinstate Labor Day as one of the plant’s paid holidays, while keeping Eid al-Fitr as an additional paid holiday for this year only. This means that in 2008 only, Shelbyville employees will have nine paid holidays.
For the remainder of the five-year contract period, the eight paid holidays will include: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and a Personal Holiday, which could either be the employee’s birthday, Eid al-Fitr or another day requested and approved by their supervisor.
This issue concerns only the plant at Shelbyville, Tennessee. Labor Day has always been celebrated, and continues to be, at the other 118 Tyson plants across the country.
The Shelbyville complex employs approximately 1,200 people. Approximately 1,000 workers are covered by the RWDSU union agreement at that location.
Public outrage at these fools to change their moronic agreement recognizing the Muslim religious holiday has prevailed. Score one for America.
t/b: Michelle Malkin
What is the big deal? Christmas is a Christian holiday, and employers, recognizing that most of their employees celebrate this also recognize it as a holiday.
It’s not like these employees were getting an EXTRA day. It was a choice they were given, and what the majority of the voters chose.
The big deal, unfortunately, is that there are an awful lot of rednecks who cannot tolerate anybody different than themselves, especially not them Muss-limms.
I don’t have any problem with Tyson and the union amending their agreement, if that’s what the employees wanted, but it’s really sad for these idiots who think they “won” something. Are you realy so shallow, and is America so shallow, that this is a fight worth having? The America I hope for is much better than this.
The first “vote” never happened, that is why so many people were upset. WE in shelbyville tn knew that. It wasn’t about religion or anything else. It was the lies Tyson’s management and the Union did behind the backs of the 85% of other employees to give to the other 15%. So please don’t take a press release as truth, read all of the information, discern for yourself what would you do if that happened to you.
I live in the south but I am from Metro DC area and dealt with all types of nationalities and religious leaders; while there were alot of individual pushing their own agendas like race, religion and just pure hate, I would say most were pretty pissed. There is so much more to the entire story that I could go on for days but that is a summary of what really happened.
You can take it for what it is worth or cast it aside.
I’d like to hear about a vote that never happened. Federal labor law requires a vote of the membership. Are you suggesting it never happened? Or that it happened, but the vast majority of the Tyson employees, for whatever reason, never voted?
If it never happened, that’s a major labor law violation, so you best have facts to back up your claim.