Smithfield workers rally for union at N.C. plant

Sade Morris is looking for a fair chance to work.

Miss Morris, 22, was injured at Smithfield Foods’ huge meat-packing plant in Tar Heel, N.C., that has come under fire for staunchly resisting a worker unionization drive and for charges of employee mistreatment.

Miss Morris lost full mobility of her hands after just eight months at the plant and said she was fired days before her surgery to heal the injuries. Her firing left her with no money and a pile of unpaid medical bills.

“Those pigs come at you fast, and you have to be ready,” said Miss Morris. “I would come home from work and my hands would still be vibrating from my saw. I couldn’t handle it.”

The Tar Heel plant is the largest in the world and employs 5,500 mostly Latino and black workers to slaughter about 32,000 hogs a day - or one every three to four seconds.

Miss Morris, fellow ex-Smithfield employees and dozens of supporters staged a rally in the District on Thursday to focus national attention on working conditions at the plant.

“I’ve been a long-time supporter of workers’ rights. They helped me when I was in office and I’ll do anything to help them now,” said D.C. Council member Marion Barry. “Injustice should have no borders, these workers have a right to stand and organize themselves.”

Workers at the Tar Heel plant have waged a bitter 10-year battle with the company, which has staunchly resisted the organizing effort. In contrast, the Smithfield plant in Prince George’s County is unionized and reports low levels of injuries, protesters said.

Vickie Demetrius, Miss Morris’ aunt, came to raise awareness of the plight of people like her niece. “A lot of people in D.C. migrated to North Carolina, creating strong ties between the states,” said Mrs. Demetrius. “At the same time, the District is one of the largest consumers of Smithfield products.”

Mrs. Demetrius, of Laurel, also suspects the large difference in state factory conditions has to do with location.

“Prince George’s County is a lot more… aware of human rights,” she said. … In North Carolina they just bring in more bodies. These people have been dehumanized.”

This event marked the start of $200,000 ad campaign by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. The ads feature pictures and testimonies of those who were injured or mistreated at the Tar Heel plant.

Smithfield spokesman Dennis Pittman, director of corporate communications for Smithfield, said that the company is doing everything it can to help the workers form a union. He said the company would welcome another election to allow workers to decide if they truly want a union and has agreed to pay for half of the cost of having an outside group monitor the election, but the union has refused.

“Smithfield understands that you have to pay well and give respect to the workers,” he said.