Union leaders at Swift & Co.’s Grand Island, Neb., and Greeley, Colo., plants are reporting that the processor has been hiring fewer Hispanic immigrants to replace those caught in raids by the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau last week.
In Greeley, for example, union president Ernie Duran told the Associated Press on Wednesday that of 75 new workers hired, 30 were Caucasians, 15 were Somali immigrants, seven were Hispanic immigrants and the rest were U.S.-born Hispanics. However, Hispanic immigrants have continued to seek employment at the plant, Duran said.
Almost 90 percent of the Greeley plant workforce was made up of Hispanics prior to the raids, Duran added, though he didn’t know how many were immigrants and how many were U.S.-born.
Swift & Co. did not return phone calls from Meatingplace.com seeking comment on the statements.
Source: Tom Johnston on Thursday, December 21, 2006, Meatingplace.com