Thousands of employees at Smithfield's pork processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina are sending a strong message to the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union today: Let us vote. Let us decide if we want union representation. A delegation of employees from the plant delivered nearly 3,000 letters from fellow employees to a Raleigh, NC post office this afternoon. The letters, addressed to the president of the UFCW, urge the union to formally request a new union election at Tar Heel.
This is the first time that employees have come together to make a strong statement about the ongoing effort to unionize the Tar Heel plant. Since June 2006, Smithfield has offered to hold a secret ballot election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The UFCW has refused. Instead, it has attacked Smithfield and tried to pressure the company into recognizing the union without a vote by the employees. The NLRB cannot schedule a new election until it is formally requested by the union.
Sarah Hayes, a crew leader at Tar Heel says the employees have the most at stake in this battle. "If we are going to get a union, it should be our choice," she said. "This is a free country and it's only right that we have a chance to make our own decisions. We are the ones who are going to have to pay the dues."
Chauncey Morgan, a Tar Heel employee who has worked on the kill floor for nearly five years, says employees have grown tired of the union controversy and are ready for the issue to be resolved. "The union is causing a lot of controversy and we need to end it," he said. "It's time for the employees to stand up and vote."
Dennis Pittman, director of corporate communications at Smithfield, said it was time for employees to make their voices heard. "Our employees deserve the right to vote on whether or not they want a union, and the volume of letters sent to the UFCW clearly demonstrates that employees want to cast a vote and make this decision," Pittman said. "We hope the UFCW will listen to the employees and respect their desire to have a new union election as soon as possible."
After hearing from employees who had grown weary of the ongoing effort to unionize the plant, Smithfield encouraged employees to consider writing letters to the UFCW. Smithfield supplied sample letters to the employees, and approximately 70 percent of eligible employees sent a letter to the UFCW.
"This is not about whether or not our employees support the union. It's about giving employees the right to vote," Pittman said. "If everything the union said about Smithfield was true, it seems like it would be eager to hold an election. Why is the union afraid to let the employees vote?"
To ensure a fair election, Smithfield has offered to pay half the cost of an independent, outside observer -- like the Jimmy Carter Center, which has overseen elections around the world -- to oversee the process.
