Religion Roundup
Union: Not All Fired Plant Workers Were Somali Muslims
Associated Press
September 24, 2008
OMAHA, Neb. - A union spokeswoman says not all the 86 workers fired last week from a Nebraska meatpacking plant were Somali Muslims.
The JBS Swift and Company plant in Grand Island has been caught in a dispute over prayer time, with Muslim workers asking for breaks so they can pray at sunset, especially now, during Islam's holy month of Ramadan. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan.
Muslim workers have walked off the job several times this month, and non-Muslims walked off after break times were adjusted to give the Muslim workers time to pray.
The company has since ended the break time accommodations, saying they weren't working. Company officials said the firings occurred because employees repeatedly left work without authorization.
The union says the fired employees were of diverse backgrounds.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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