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More than four thousand workers, labor, faith & community allies rallied in Raleigh on February 9th for the NC NAACP's Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HK on J!)
Read more about the event.
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Paula Deen returned to Savannah on December 10, just in time for an International Human Rights Day celebration in her home town. Workers and their supporters asked Paula to become a Human Rights leader with Smithfield. Read more.
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Despite torrential rains, dozens of protesters turned out to Portland, Oregon's Bagdad Theater on December 3rd to ask TV chef Paula Deen to have a heart and meet with workers at Smithfield's Tar Heel plant. Read more.
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Dozens of labor and human rights activists confronted television chef Paula Deen at a Washington, D.C. book store Wednesday evening. Read more.
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On Saturday, November 17, two dozen protesters from Savannah, Georgia, gathered outside Paula Deen’s downtown restaurant to educate customers about her relationship with Smithfield Foods. Read More.
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On November 17, protesters leafletted the Ukrops grocery store in Richmond, Virginia. Read More.
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Chicago Aldermen join union protest against Celebrity Chef Paula Deen oustside the Chicago Theater Nov. 17th. Read more.
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On Saturday, November 3rd, dozens of supporters of Smithfield workers protested outside the Metropolitan Area Cooking and Entertaining Show in Washington, DC to protest celebrity chef Paula Deen and her sponsorship deal with Smithfield Foods. Read more (with photos).
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On August 29th, 150 Smithfield workers and family members traveled toWilliamsburg, Virginia to meet the top corporate leaders of Smithfield Foods, and were joined by 1000 supporters from around the country in a loud, colorful and passionate show of solidarity. Read more.
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Smithfield livestock workers walked off the job on Aug. 6th after managers refused to meet with them over access to clean drinking water, even as temperatures in Tar Heel hit 100 degrees. Read more and find out how you can help.
Also, read the Fayetteville Observer coverage.
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On July 19, managers at Smithfield’s Tar Heel plant refused entry to a delegation of civil rights and religious leaders, forcing them to stand outside in the 100 degree heat for an hour before escorting them off company property—even though they had been invited to meet with company officials! Read more.
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On Saturday, July 14, dozens of Nashville clergy, civil rights leaders and consumers rallied to demand that two area supermarkets to stop stocking Smithfield Foods pork products made at the company’s Tar Heel plant. Read more.
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On Monday, July 2nd, Presidential Master Chef Talli V. Counsel wrote to Smithfield-sponsored celebrity chef Paula Deen, asking that she use her influence to end the “brutal working conditions” at Smithfield’s Tar Heel Plant. Read more.
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On Saturday, June 30th, more than 100 supporters marched from Atlanta’s civic center to a Publix supermarket to demand that the market stop carrying pork products from Smithfield’s Tar Heel plant. Read More.
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On June 26th, the United Church of Christ resolved to support Smithfield workers in their struggle. "The church, as the body of Christ, must stand in solidarity with men and women in places where they work, especially if they face unsafe conditions, extremely low pay, intimidation, racism or sexism." Read the UCC resolution.
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On Monday, June 25, the City Council of Chelsea, Massachusetts unanimously passed a resolution supporting the workers at the Smithfield Tar Heel plant and encouraging "all supermarkets and vendors in Chelsea to boycott the sales of Smithfield meat products in their stores..." Read the resolution.
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Senator John Edwards met with workers from Smithfield's Tar Heel Plant on on Thursday, June 21, The presidential candidate demanded that Smithfield give workers the right to organize, and advocated for "card check" legislation. "Nobody should have to work under those conditions," he said. Read the AP Story (in html or pdf).
Read the letter Sen. Edwards sent to Smithfield's CEO last April. |
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On Saturday, June 16, 2007, more than 250 Smithfield workers, family members and supporters gathered in Charlotte, NC for an emotional Father's Day “Prayers for Our Papas” vigil and rally. Read more about the event (with photos). View the local news coverage (with video). Dowload the event flyer in English or en Español. Or download the audio invite from Smithfield workers.
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On Wednesday, May 23, 2007, workers in the livestock department at Smithfield Packing in Tar Heel, NC filed a complaint with the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration (NC-OSHA) because of hazardous conditions and the lack of clean drinking water. The following day OSHA investigators visited the plant.
Read the workers' OSHA complaint
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On Wednesday, April 18, 2007 several dozens of Justice at Smithfield supporters rallied at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC for a vigil at southern celebrity chef Paula Deen’s book signing event.
Read the report
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Presidential Candidate John Edwards calls on CEO of Smithfield Foods to allow a union at its North Carolina plant Edwards' letter to CEO Pope follows demonstrations in 24 cities against Harris Teeter demanding the supermarket drop Smithfield Packing products from Tar Heel plant.
Read Letter
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That the world's largest hog processing plant is located in the tiny Bladen County town of Tar Heel, 80 miles southeast of Raleigh, is not by accident. It's there, observes the Rev. Mac Legerton, a veteran activist who runs the Center for Community Action in nearby Lumberton, for the simple reason that Bladen is one of the poorest counties in America, as are its neighbors, Robeson and Columbus counties, and because North Carolina is the least unionized of all the states.
Website link
Read more
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Former Smithfield employee Lorena Gomez Ramos is scheduled to participate this month in a Wal-Mart Food and Agricultural Worker speaking tour in several cities across North Carolina and Georgia.
Read more
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On Saturday, March 31, over a thousand people from all across the Southeast simultaneously converged on 19 Harris Teeter Stores to send the supermarket chain a message of justice for Smithfield Workers.
Read more
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The 90 workers in the livestock department at Smithfield Packing have shown that the only way to improve their working conditions is to stick together and face the atmosphere of threats, fear and intimidation that their management continues to maintain.
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Mark Lauritsen of the UFCW in North America spoke about the struggles at Smithfield, one of the world's largest meat manufacturers, which seems intent upon exporting its low-wage, anti-union model to Europe.
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On Thursday, March 15 2007, about 330 people packed into the Bladen Community College in Dublin, NC for a public hearing on Smithfield's renewal of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit, or water permit.
Read more
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In the following show Jackie interviewed Dennis Pittman, Public Relations Spokesman for Smithfield Foods in Tar Heel, NC.
Read more
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On Saturday, February 10th a group of 80 Smithfield workers and community supporters participated in the NC NAACP's People's General Assembly and Historic Thousands on Jones Street march in Raleigh, NC.
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February 8, Smithfield Tar Heel worker Keith Ludlum testified in support of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) before the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions.
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On a cold day in February, over 60 people braved the elements and gathered outside Smithfield’s Tar Heel division to condemn Smithfield over the arrests of 21 Hispanic workers by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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Every third Monday of January, the US stops to honor the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.On this Federal Holiday, people celebrate the progress of the civil rights movement and recognize the steps we have yet to take in achieving greater equality in the US.
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Pictures with the workers, SEIU 615 president Rocio Saenz, City Councilman Chuck Turner, and State Rep Marie St. Flour.
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On December 2, at the same time, in eleven North Carolina communities from the mountains to the coast, 600 people stood together for Justice at Smithfield. We relied on the experiences of Smithfield workers to guide us and motivate us.
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Thanks to the determined two day walkout by hundreds of workers at Smithfield's Tar Heel, NC plant, backed by thousands of supporters across the country, Smithfield agreed to a negotiated settlement with the workers to halt the wholesale firing of immigrant workers.
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Injury rates have skyrocketed at Smithfield Packing, according to a report released on Labor Day by the Justice at Smithfield campaign. Smithfield workers suffer everything from hearing loss, repetitive motion disorders, and amputations.
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Led by workers from Tar Heel North Carolina, four hundred NYC union, religious and community activists protested in front of Smithfield Foods New York City Park Avenue corporate offices to call for a halt to the abuse of Tar Heel workers.
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On August 30th in Richmond Justice at Smithfield Supporters from around the country gathered together for the Smithfield Foods Annual Shareholders Meeting.
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Smithfield's employees around the world are writing letters, handing out literature, and meeting with plant managers and telling them to stop the abuse of workers in Tar Heel.
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