Re: RE: Lakeside Packers/ Tyson strike
Hank C Cheyenne said:
....its not fair for the workers who don't want to be part of a union...why should they have to sit out...... and the threatning and breaking of windows is not acceptable.... and they think they can just block buses of workers to keep them from doing their job...what about their rights to work in a free country...
...if a worker is not happy with the pay then what the hell is keeping them there...there are jobs everywhere...
...unions are a cause for lots of lost revenues and it is a fact that unionized workers have a higher rate of absenteeism.....but I'm just saying we need to protect the rights of the workers who want no part of a union.
I am new to this forum. This is my first post. I am not new to the Tyson situation as my son has been at the Lakeside Plant for the past 5 years.
This strike has little or nothing to do with wages. The workers are fighting for basic human rights that we take for granted in most civilized countries.
Lakeside Packers has been operating it's Brooks Plant like some third world sweatshop. Workers have not been treated with the deceny and respect that everybody in this world deserves.
As an example I can quote my son's situation from two years ago. He handles 75 lb blocks of meat anywhere from 8 - 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. His back got too sore to continue and he visited the nursing station where he was placed on light duty. After four weeks on light duty he saw no improvement and said he needed to see a doctor. He was told in no uncertain terms that if he went to see a doctor he would be fired and need never look for work at Lakeside Packers again.
This left him so confused that he didn't know where to turn so his nerves got down. I finally convinced him to say to hell with being fired and go to the doctor. He was immediately hospitalized. The doctor took him off work and recommended that he return home, some 3000 miles to recover. We supported him and helped him deal with the red tape and he recovered nicely.
He had to quit his job at Lakeside in order to avoid being blacklisted. He has been back in Brooks working at Lakeside again for more than year.
Anybody who thinks the workers at Lakeside don't deserve the protection a union offers should be made work there under the same conditions as my son. You will change your tune pretty damn fast.
This strike is not about wages. It never was. The workers are happy with the payscale. They just want to be treated like people.
Slavery was abolished everywhere in North America but someone forgot to tell the Managers at Lakeside Packers.
I just spoke to my son and he tells me that a deal is likely to be ratified this weekend and things should be back to normal by Monday or Tuesday.
If he gets injured in the future at least I have the peace of mind of knowing he can seek medical attention without fear of being fired and blacklisted.
BTW! He mentioned that the union isn't supporting the riff raff that damaged company and private property during the strike. In all likelihood they will be fired and he says good riddance to them
Will Lakeside Packers fire the riff raff in Upper Mangement that ran the Union President off the road? They should!
It is that top down goon like management style that caused this strike in the first place.
Get rid of the goons on both sides and you will have done the company a favour that everyone will appreciate. Productivity will soar and employees will look forward to going to work instead of dreading what tomorrow will bring. There should be no place for bullies, in the schoolyard or on a production floor.
