NEW YORK TIMES February 13, 2006 Union Takes New Tack in Organizing Effort at Pork-Processing Plant By STEVEN GREENHOUSE TAR HEEL, N.C. - The campaign to unionize the nation's largest pork-processing plant here, a facility that kills 32,000 hogs a day, never seems to end. Among the nearly 5,500 workers at the Smithfield plant who kill the hogs and cut them into hams, ribs and pork chops, there is a steady stream of complaints about bullying managers, the line speed and the many injuries to hands, arms and shoulders. "A union would help reduce all the injuries - people are getting hurt left and right," said Edward Morrison, 42, an Army veteran who quit his job on the kill floor in October after tearing his knee while straining to push a rack that had five hogs hanging from it. "A union would also give the workers a say-so." In 1997, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union lost a unionization election at the sprawling plant, built in this rural town 75 miles south of Raleigh. But it was not until 2004 that the National Labor Relations Board upheld an administrative law judge's decision that threw out the election results. The labor board found that the Smithfield Packing Company not only had prevented a fair election by illegally intimidating, firing, threatening and spying on workers but also had a union supporter beaten up the night of the vote count. Asserting that the labor board got it all wrong, Smithfield has asked a federal appeals court to overturn the board's decision, and while the litigation drags on, the union has embraced a new strategy. The union is lining up allies - civil rights groups, college students and members of the clergy - to press Smithfield to agree not to fight a unionization effort. One of those the union has enlisted is the Rev. Markel Hutchins, associate pastor at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Atlanta. "I became involved with this not so much as a union issue, but as a civil and human rights issue," said Mr. Hutchins, who has spoken at churches and colleges to rally support for the Smithfield workers. "What's happening there is eerily reminiscent of the days of Jim Crow in terms of gross mistreatment." The union's new tack is part of a fast-growing strategy in which unions, frustrated that they often lose elections when companies mount aggressive antiunion campaigns, are pushing companies to remain neutral during organizing drives. "Given the history of Smithfield, if you try to have a free and fair election, it ain't going to work," said Gene Bruskin, the director of the unionization drive. "What Smithfield needs to hear is the message that workers have a right to make a decision about whether they want a union without being beaten, terrorized, intimidated and threatened." Jerry Hostetter, a spokesman for Smithfield Foods, the plant's parent company, said Smithfield respected the workers' decision when they voted against unionizing in 1994 and again in 1997. He said, "The company believes that management and employees are working well together at Tar Heel and do not need a third party," meaning a union. Mr. Hostetter said Smithfield maintained a good relationship with unions at its unionized plants - 21,800 of its 51,290 workers have union representation. But union officials are quick to point out that the workers at many of those plants earn on average 40 percent more than the Tar Heel workers, who usually earn $8.50 to $11.50 an hour. Mr. Hostetter said it would be wrong for Smithfield to agree to neutrality because that would bar the company from telling employees about the downside of unionization. "The union's suggestion for 'neutrality' is a request that the employees should be shielded from the facts," he said. "That is unacceptable. Employees need to make an informed decision as to whether unionization is good for themselves, their families and the company for which they work. Employees are entitled to know the full story, positive and negative, before making a decision." Mr. Hostetter said nothing was stopping the union from seeking a new election tomorrow. "If our employees want an election at Tar Heel, we know of no reason why it would not be fair and free for all concerned," he said. But Joseph T. Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers, said: "We could have an election there every year, but it won't be fair because the workers will be terrorized. Why should we keep beating our head against the wall?" Mr. Hansen said the lower pay at the Tar Heel plant was putting downward pressure on pay throughout the industry. "The way people are treated there is outrageous," he added. "The people there are treated as if they're in the Sudan and not in the United States." One problem facing the union is the friction between the plant's Hispanic and black workers - about 65 percent are Hispanic, 25 percent are black, and the remaining 10 percent are white or American Indian. The labor board and the administrative law judge ruled that Smithfield had repeatedly broken the law in pressing workers to vote against the union. According to those rulings, Smithfield managers illegally fired four workers for supporting the union and threatened to freeze wages, discharge employees and close the plant if the workers unionized. The two rulings also found that Smithfield had improperly intimidated union supporters by having its small police force mill outside the polling station at the plant. Lorena Ramos, 29, an immigrant from Honduras, said Smithfield's managers and consultants often told the workers that the union only wanted employees' dues money and would cause strikes that could lead to violence, job losses and even closing the plant. Her right arm was badly injured when it got caught in a conveyer belt as she was scooping dry ice into packing boxes. She and her husband were outspoken union supporters, and they said they were shocked and embarrassed when the plant's internal police force arrested them, handcuffed them and paraded them through the plant, accusing them of setting a fire in one of the plant's cafeterias. The county's district attorney dropped the charges for lack of evidence. Ms. Ramos quit the plant after the arrest, too scared to return. The union hired her as an organizer because of her popularity, courage and communications skills. "Right now if the workers want something to change at the plant, the plant's not going to listen to them," she said. "If the workers have a union, then they will be listened to." At its office in Red Springs, 20 miles from the plant, the union is trying to solidify support from Smithfield workers by giving English classes and helping them with their injuries and immigration problems. The union wants to have strong worker backing, hoping that if Smithfield agrees to neutrality, the union can then quickly show majority support through an election or having workers sign union-support cards. For workers, line speed is one of the biggest issues. On each processing line on the kill floor, a hog passes about every three and a half seconds, translating into about 1,000 hogs an hour, 8,000 a shift. Many workers complain that injuries are caused by the line speed and by having to do the same task thousands of times daily. Workers sometimes even stab one another or themselves by mistake. Smithfield officials said the plant's injury rate was no worse than the industry average. "Our first concern in setting line speeds is the safety and health of our employees," Mr. Hostetter said.