More than 1,500 workers at the Tyson plant in Pasco – most of them Latino, Bosnian, and Vietnamese immigrants – have been fighting to remain members of Teamsters Local 556 since early last year.  In April 2004, Tyson management tried to get workers to vote out their union, but workers voted to remain union members and to enter into contract negotiations.  Instead of respecting the vote, Tyson has frozen workers wages and tried to break the union again.  February 9-11, the workers must vote again to stay members of their union.

It is important that Tyson workers know that they have the support of the community in their fight to preserve their democratic right to choose union representation.  Please take a moment to let the workers know that they have your support!

A new report by Human Rights Watch, Blood, Sweat and Fear: Workers' Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants, criticizes Tyson for violating workplace health and safety, workers' freedom of association, and the rights of immigrant workers in its meatpacking and poultry plants across the nation.  A second report by two University researchers found that Tyson's Pasco plant is one of the most unsafe meatpacking plants in the nation,­ with injury rates nearly three times the industry average.

To attempt to intimidate the Tyson workers and try to bust their union, Tyson has employed tactics including compelling workers to attend mandatory "captive audience" meetings to listen to anti-union propaganda, one-on-one meetings between union supporters and supervisors, and ending dues check-off (the automatic payroll deduction of union dues) to try to financially break the union or force workers into accepting a substandard union contract.  The contract that Tyson is threatening to impose would freeze workers' wages for five years and would eliminate important union rights which would effectively end union representation at the plant. 

Meatpacking is dangerous work, especially at Tyson's Pasco plant where the injury rate is nearly three times the national average for plants of comparable size.  Last year, one Pasco worker had his arm cut off in a hock cutter after Tyson removed safety mechanisms from the machine.  The WA State Department of Labor fined Tyson, saying, "they knew it was dangerous and didn't do anything."  Tyson workers need their union not only to bargain for wages and health care for their families, but to seek a commitment by the company to avoid work processes that jeopardize worker safety and food safety. 

The workers cannot stand up to this giant corporation alone.  They need to know that they have the support of people around the country as they go to vote again to choose a voice at work.  Please let the workers know that they have your support.