Besides hormone-injected breasticles.  Besides “parts-n-stuff” nuggets held together by chicken-flavored glue.   Besides the fact that when they are not culling the parking lots for illegal aliens that they go and do something like this:

Workers at Tyson Foods’ poultry processing plant in Shelbyville (TN) will no longer have a paid day off on Labor Day, but will instead take the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in the fall.

A recent press release from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) stated that a new contract at the Shelbyville facility “implements a new holiday to accommodate the … Muslim workers at the plant.”

The RWDSU stated that “the five-year contract creates an additional paid holiday, Iidal Fitil, a Muslim holiday that occurs toward the end of Ramadan.”

On one hand I’m torn.  A private business should be able to give everyone 365 days off a year if they want.  On the other hand, replacing Labor Day for a holiday to placate the most violent, intolerant, misogynistic religion on the planet may not be the greatest idea.  And while it shows a politically expedient gesture to their employees where the company has financially given up nothing, it may not play as well to their customers.

“Based on the contract, the other paid holidays include: The Team Member’s birthday, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day,” Mickelson said.

So Easter didn’t make the cut, eh?  I guess rising from the dead was subject to negotiation.  Tough crowd.  If I’m to believe the Ramadan prayer at the close of Eid-al-Fitr there is only one god anyway so you might as well quit pissing them off and drop Christmas too.

How you got 700 Muslims out of 1200 employees at the same plant in rural Shelbyville, TN is a baffling statistic.

Regardless, say goodbye to my freezer Tyson.  Your products will never see the inside of it again.

Bow Down Before The One Your Serve Update: Evidently, the local NBC affiliate went down to see what all the hub-bub was and was rejected from stepping foot on the property - for reasons which may be obvious:

Tyson company spokeswoman Libby Lawson said by phone that, “This isn’t a religious accommodation, this is a contractual agreement. The majority asked for it.”

So can we assume that if the majority asked for 10 days, 14 days, 21 days off a year that they would get it?

Channel 4’s Cynthia Williams could not reach any of the plant’s Muslim workers, because Channel 4 News’ crew was not permitted on the property.

Note to Cynthia:  Put on a burqa and see if that helps.

Former employee and Shelbyville resident Anthony Proctor said he thinks what’s happening is wrong.  He said he helped build a special Muslim prayer room that’s located inside the plant and that no other Tyson facility has been that accommodating for any other religion.

“If we want to go pray, we don’t have one for Christians,” he said.

They also said if you were Union that you could still take off Labor Day but that if you weren’t Union that you still have to come to work.  Does that mean Muslims can’t take Christmas off?  Racists can’t take MLK Day off?  The British can’t take off Independence Day?

If only there was a law in place about treating all employees equal.

Hey Cynthia, just do what most Tyson workers do in order to get inside - steal somebody’s Social Security number, buy a fake ID, and take a job paying below minimum wage.

Allahu Akbar, ya’ll.

Double Reverse Irony Watch: Obama-backing Union approved the move.

Posted by Brian @ 11:28 am
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1. I can’t recall why, but back when I was a radical right wing conspiracy nut with my own chemical suit, gas mask, and stock of mainstay bars, Tyson Chicken was one of those things I wouldn’t buy. It had something to do with Clinton (of course), some dead kids, and a cocaine shipment. So I always wonder if it’s politically tainted chicken.
   But it’s fair if they’re mostly Muslim to let them have Eid off. Everyone is probably off on Easter anyway, since it’s always on Sunday.
   Crazy statistic though. I wonder if there are more Muslims than Lutherans that whole county?

   comment by michele — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 11:57 am

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2. Tyson still gives to Democrats about 2.5:1.

   Most companies usually give the business day before or after Easter because so many employees travel or have their children on break from school.

   They can celebrate Timothy McVeigh’s birthday if they want to but it doesn’t mean that there are no repercussions to doing so.

   comment by Brian — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 12:22 pm

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3. Would you say there’s a difference between Timothy McVeigh and your average right winger? I’d say there is. We can’t seem to hunt down these people before they do something nasty. Are we complicit? No. We’re just not superheroes. That’s my deal with the Muslims. They just have a lot of very rabid and loud McVeighs, and a lot of fear of repercussions in their communities for standing up to them. They’re like Germans in the hands of the Nazis.

   Eid is a holiday like Thanksgiving. Lots of food and people being nice. It should be encouraged.

   You hate me don’t you.

   comment by michele — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 1:30 pm

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4. How could I?

   In a perfect world, they should have just kept Labor Day as it is a U.S. federal holiday and if they felt so strongly about it then they should have added whatever holidays they deemed appropriate.

   Instead, they clipped the US holiday in favor of adding an Islamic one because there’s no one to stand up for Labor Day anymore. If they eliminated MLK, they’d be pilloried as racists. If they did Independence Day or Memorial Day they would piss off the veterans, etc., etc.

   The Eid ceremony usually marks a return to violence for those RoP practitioners who abstain from murdering innocent people while pouring a little Mecca Cola on the curb for their dead homies during Ramadan.

   It’s the incrementalism I’m noting. Again, Tyson can do whatever they want. Their customers are free to do the same.

   comment by Brian — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 2:35 pm

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5. They could have kept labor day as a holiday too, but I think that was a reaonable economic decision to eliminate a holiday that exists solely to give everybody a day off work, for a religious one. I guess they figured only the religiously lazy would object to Labor Day being eliminated.

   comment by michele — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 3:53 pm

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6. You’ve got a freezer full of chicken breast fillets you got on sale for $5.99 don’t you?

   I’ve never worked anywhere that built a prayer facility for anyone. Doing so opens up all kinds of doors for accusations of preferential or discriminatory treatment.

   Do you only build it when it’s the majority that asks for it? Isn’t that by definition discriminating against the minority?

   I’m interested if there are any women or gay people at this facility considering the zeal of the majority of their employees.

   comment by Brian — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 4:31 pm

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7. Mee-shell, I’m with Brian on this one. Screw Tyson foods…I ain’t buyin’ any more of their products.

   Assimilation. Labor Day is an American holiday and if the Musleems want to celebrate their holiday, they can move the heck back to the Middle East. Or they can take an unpaid day off for their religious observance.

   If you haven’t read America Alone yet by Mark Steyn…do so. Sharia is creeeping…Sharia is creeping…

   comment by Nigel — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 4:42 pm

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8. I didn’t know they were building a prayer facility? Are they? But shit guys, Google gives their geeks gamerooms, if Tyson wants to give their muslims Eid what the hell? It’s not Sharia. Was there pressure or some kind of protest or is this just a benefit that Tyson thought would encourage their employees to stay?

   comment by michele — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 5:24 pm

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9. Oh. I just read your update. Scuse me. It may be “incrementalism”. I fold.

   comment by michele — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 5:26 pm

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10. The story just kind of unfolded a little between the time I posted and our exchange so. By unfolded I mean I saw that post from yesterday from WSMV.

    There’s always a little more than just, “oh well, we decided to drop Labor Day for a Islamic one.”

    Nigel mentioned Steyn’s “America Alone” that I almost got off of Amazon last night. We’re seeing the libel tourism, and the human rights courts making sure people aren’t offended, and the six Minnesota passengers testing security and claiming civil rights violations.

    I’d be interested if there were some other sharia-type policies there in regards to who-can-work-where or dress codes or anything of the sort. Chances are this was not the first time that company bent.

    comment by Brian — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 7:22 pm

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11. Well good,,,, this type thing is just an introduction,, a prelude if you will, to the US under a OsamaHusseinIslamObama administration. Lets’ get this kinda’ stuff out in the open ASAP. Remember, keep your powder dry and handy!

    OsamaHussinIslamObama (D-World)
    (the terrorist choice)

    comment by Swamp Rabbit — Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 8:20 pm

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12. I was sure this was a joke. I was SURE this was a joke.
    It’s not a joke.

    Michele–”only the religiously lazy would object to labor day being eliminated”? I submit that it is probable that only the religiously lazy would stand for it. Why would an atheist accept the idea that a secular holiday should be abandoned in favor of a religious one? Why would a Jew who was not religiously lazy accept the idea that a secular holiday should be abandoned in favor of a Moslem one? I’ll bet Tyson doesn’t give all their employees Yom Kippur off.

    It’s important to remember that, particularly in the twenty-first century, the union officials very seldom represent the point of view of the rank-and-file.

    comment by Trish — Sunday, August 3, 2008 @ 1:31 am

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13. I meant people who are religious about being lazy. But turned around that way, I’m sure it didn’t sound as silly as I meant it.

    Why am I still up?

    comment by michele — Sunday, August 3, 2008 @ 2:00 am

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14. Waitaminute, when did the illegal immigrants embrace Islam?

    comment by Cranky — Sunday, August 3, 2008 @ 9:01 am

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15. I don’t believe anyone in this particular scenario is illegal (being from Somalia) but Tyson does have a track record of recruiting illegals.

    comment by Brian — Sunday, August 3, 2008 @ 5:42 pm

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16. quoting you…”say goodbye to my freezer Tyson. Your products will never see the inside of it again.” my sentiments exactly

    comment by nan — Sunday, August 3, 2008 @ 10:37 pm

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17. SERIOUS freezer burn here.

    comment by Lemur King — Monday, August 4, 2008 @ 6:27 pm

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18. “The decision will only apply to workers at the plant who are union members. All other employees at the plant will still have their normal Labor Day holiday.”

    Here’s the deal. You go to a war-torn shit hole like Somalia. You tell 700 guys that they can come to the greatest country in the world to work for your company. They leave their homes and cross the ocean, but they have their spiritual beliefs too. Should Tyson tell them you can come, we’ll save your life, if you promise to give up practicing your religion, because it’s a pain in our ass to build you a prayer room or give union employees Eid al Fatr off? That’s bribery. They don’t really have free will to choose because their choice is stay in Somalia and suffer, or come to America and bear the shame of denying their god.

    If there were 700 Jews working for Tyson, I guarantee there would be religious concessions for them, and it wouldn’t even be news. If 700 Americans went to work in Saudi Arabia for an oil company, and the company gave them Christmas off, that would be very nice. Of course we would be shocked, because Saudis don’t operate that way, they’re not fair like Americans.

    No, I’ve decided it’s not incrementalism, because these employees are not state welfare recipients like in the Netherlands,France etc. They’re not demanding that the whole state practice Sharia, they’re not subject to their own laws. They are immigrants who are contributing, and the union contract offered them a benefit. That’s what the union is there for, to campaign for it’s members.

    The only story here is how batshit people are going over it.

    comment by michele — Tuesday, August 5, 2008 @ 11:20 am

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19. Who said they had to stop practicing their religion? Who said to deny them their god?

    I’m talking about a situation where if the situation were reversed and the Christophilic godbotherers demanded the TBN Network blasted from thy Exalted Break Room that the Holy Shit would hit the fan.

    You can say incrementalism is in the eye of the beholder but as I mentioned - I have never seen a company build a breakroom for anyone of any religion. This makes it official. I imagine that there were smaller, unofficial concessions along the way (i.e., any women managers over these 700 devout Muslims or is that another accommodation they negotiated out of?)

    Rumors of my batshitiness are mildly exaggerated. I have not confused a private company with the federal government and I have not called these Somalian immigrants “illegal”. I’ve said that Tyson has a history of purposefully hiring illegals and they do and that a private company should be allowed to pretty much do whatever they want.

    If Tyson is so proud of what they’ve done then they can have the camera crew come back and clear the air.

    Nor have I said “hey everybody, let’s start up a boycott and fuckalotta, Tyson”. I’m personally saying that I’m not buying their crap anymore due to a culmination of things and this is just the coup de grace.

    comment by Brian — Tuesday, August 5, 2008 @ 6:56 pm

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20. nkay

    comment by michele — Tuesday, August 5, 2008 @ 7:34 pm

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21. Just wanted to say Eid Mubarak to all of you and hope you all find peace and happiness.
    Islam is a peaceful religion far removed from what some in the media and the ill-informed politicos would have you believe. Our religion teaches self control and striving for submission to God, charity, and family values as well as basic tolerance for others and their beliefs but like every other religion in the world we cannot prevent some from taking to extremes and twisting religious values into something they are not for political power or other gain.
    As a Muslim I applaud Tyson for responding to the simple requests of the employees. No one is being forced to do anything….they only requested a simple room to perform their 5 daily prayers…no one who doesn’t want to do it has to have it shoved in their face. Tolerance was shown by creating this…not pandering. Muslims by and large practice their simple faith and daily prayers in quiet oblivion….why should you object to that? And as for allowing them to choose their holidays….as a Muslim for years I had to take Christmas off whether I wanted to or not (incidentally its a recognized holy day for us too….we just don’t have a big celebration like you do) but not allowed to take my own holidays off. This is just allowing that. The best policy is that everyone have a set number of holidays per year and they can choose when to take them off….but perhaps this doesn’t work for a factory environment….i don’t know. Thats a leadership decision.

    Anyway…I love to eat Tyson chicken nuggets with A-1 sauce and they will continue to occupy a venerated place in my fridge.

    comment by sara — Tuesday, September 30, 2008 @ 12:16 am

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