Union Members, Please Explain This One

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TrainTrac

TrainTrac

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First off, I don't intend for this thread to be a slam on unions or totally anti-union. This story just seemed odd. The union gave up Labor Day as a paid holiday. Labor Day was originally started by organized labor and adopted as a Federal and State holiday at the urging of labor unions. I would think that during contract negotiations, this would be the one holiday that a union wouldn't want to relinquish.:huh:



Tyson Foods drops Labor Day for Muslim holiday



ASSOCIATED PRESS



SHELBYVILLE — 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 5-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 say 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.
Click to expand...
 
It sounds like over half the plant is Muslim, and they would rather have a religious holiday off, instead of a generalized 3-day weekend.



It doesn't seem that complicated.
 
I think you're right, Gavin. I saw some statistics and research last week that illustrated the fact that union membership in the private sector has declined dramatically over the last several decades. From the story I posted above it does in fact appear that they're willing to sacrifice some of their most sacred principles in the interest of shoring up their membership. I would've thought that they would've given up some other holiday rather than Labor Day.



I'd still like to hear some perspective on this story from some of our union members, such as Caymen or, even Frank.
 
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Actually, under Title VII, they could face a law suit for failure to reasonably accommodate to the religious practices of a person. I'd bet this is their way of providing a reasonable accommodation either in the face of or perceived threat of a law suit. Nothing too new, really.
 
But is there a less "important" day do give up?



Not Memorial day, July 4, Christmas



The only borderline ones would be Thanksgiving or New Years, and those aren't very likely either.
 
From where I'm from, Philadelphia, people wait years to get in good unions such as the electric union (which some say is the strongest union in the nation) and the plumbers, carpenters, laborers, and steamfitters. You basically need to have ties with important people or wait 3-5 years. Hell I would wait 5 years to get into the electric union, thier rate after go through the apprentiship and journeyman workers it 54 dollars an hour.

CHRIS
 
AdamCKach said:

Actually, under Title VII, they could face a law suit for failure to reasonably accommodate to the religious practices of a person. I'd bet this is their way of providing a reasonable accommodation either in the face of or perceived threat of a law suit. Nothing too new, really.
Click to expand...



This is a slippery slope. Where do you draw the line at what is a reasonable vs. unreasonable accomodation? What's next? Shutting down production five times a day for prayer? Demanding that the employer provide foot baths for said prayer? Demanding separate work areas for men and women?



CHRIS said:

From where I'm from, Philadelphia, people wait years to get in good unions such as the electric union (which some say is the strongest union in the nation) and the plumbers, carpenters, laborers, and steamfitters. You basically need to have ties with important people or wait 3-5 years. Hell I would wait 5 years to get into the electric union, thier rate after go through the apprentiship and journeyman workers it 54 dollars an hour.
Click to expand...



In most trade unions, you receive training in a technical field over a four-year apprenticeship period, resulting in you becoming a journeyman with a marketable field. That's why they usually make a good wage. I don't think that their membership is declining. I was referring to others areas of the private sector like unskilled organized labor in plants like the Tyson Foods plant mentioned in the article above.
 
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No.



Under Title VII, where an employer knows of a religious practice, almost any accommodation is reasonable and only one is necessary. It's a legal term of art, and not a balancing test, comparison of quantity and quality, etc. It's really a threshold the employer meets to avoid liability for failure to accommodate--and, as the claim implies, it's easier to show a failure to accommodate when the employer offers no accommodation.



The way I see this, and it is mere speculation, but they offered a pretty big-deal accommodation in providing a day off that those of the Muslim faith would not otherwise have. In the scheme of, e.g., providing a break room or extended break for prayer, etc., I think Tyson went for the anti-suit jugular.
 
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Adam,



Still using this Tyson plant as the example, I still think it's a Pandora's box. What now happens if a Jewish employee, Christian employee, or employee of any other faith decides to sue for a "paid religious holiday" based on the fact that the employer "accomodated" the Muslim employees.



Or, what about the non-Muslim employees who still wanted Labor Day off and would rather work on the Muslim holiday?
 
That's why all companies should give the 6 Christian "White Guy" holidays (New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas), and a few floating holidays (two or three) so that all the other religions and nationalities can take off whatever they want.



TJR
 
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I just wish we could move christmas day to the third monday of the month so we would always get a 3 day weekend.
 
They could have just written the contract to allow one religious holiday off per year. The Christians could take Christmas, the Muslims, Jews and Wiccans all get their days too.
 
It is my limited experience that very few people of the caucasian persuasion work in meat packing plants anymore. Not trying to be racist but in a neighboring town there is a pork processing plant and it is a majority of mexican or latino population. I would assume that would be the case here except for muslims instead of latino.
 

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