000854 ConAgra May Have Threatened Workers

Omaha, NE - Multifoods giant ConAgra Inc. may have illegally threatened and coerced workers from trying to organize at its Omaha meatpacking plant, a regional office of the National Labor Relations Board said Monday.

Allegations made by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union will advance to an administrative law judge for further review unless ConAgra settles, said Leonard Bernstein, an attorney with the NLRB in Kansas City.

ConAgra could settle with the board and post a statement for 60 days at the plant telling employees it will not engage in similar behavior, Bernstein said. The NLRB had not heard yet from the company, he said.

The union accused ConAgra of photographing or videotaping employees who engaged in union activities, prohibiting workers from distributing union literature in nonwork areas of the facility and threatening to confiscate union literature, Bernstein said.

“The evidence presented to us would indicate that on certain occasions there was photographing and videotaping and threatening,” Bernstein said.

Bernstein said that except for a position letter presented to the NLRB's regional office, ConAgra declined to counter the evidence presented.

ConAgra spokeswoman Karen Savinski said the NLRB believes a guard service hired by ConAgra may have committed any violations. ConAgra would be responsible for the guard service's actions at the plant, Savinski said.

“We look forward to the opportunity to provide evidence in regard to these allegations as it goes to trial,” Savinski said. “ConAgra Beef has not interfered with anyone's right to organize.”

The union filed the charges in June as it joined Omaha Together One Community, a group of 38 Omaha church organizations, to announce the start of a drive to organize the city's largely Hispanic meatpacking force. Other companies in Omaha targeted for union organization include Greater Omaha Packing Co. and Nebraska Beef.

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