Reply #2: Hundreds protest Smithfield meeting

[struggle4progress]

BY PATRICK LYNCH
Daily Press
August 30, 2006, 2:31 PM EDT

RICHMOND -- More than 300 protestors rallied outside of Smithfield Foods' annual shareholder meeting here Wednesday afternoon, calling for fair union elections at the pork processor's massive Tar Heel, N.C.

The group, rallied by religious leaders and officials with the United Food and Commercial Workers union, also plans to have several people who own Smithfield stock speak on their behalf at the company's meeting, being held at the Jefferson Hotel.

The union has tried twice unsuccessfully to organize at the nearly 6,000-worker Smithfield Packing Co. plant in Tar Heel, which the company calls the world's largest hog processing plant. But the National Labor Relations Board has also ruled that company officials worked to disrupt union elections and intimidate union supporters.

Smithfield Packing recently said it would drop its appeal of the labor board ruling and would support a third vote on a union ...

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-smfdonline.au31,0,7011213.story?coll=dp-news-local-final