020739 Immigrant Claim Vs. Tyson Dismissed

Chattanooga, TN - A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that accused Tyson Foods Inc. of depressing workers' wages by hiring illegal immigrants at its Shelbyville plant.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar does not affect a pending criminal case in which Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson, the nation's largest meat processing company, is accused with five former managers of various immigration law violations.

The lawsuit dismissed was filed in Winchester by former hourly employees of Tyson's plant in Shelbyville.

Howard Foster of Chicago, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the lawsuit was "wrongly decided and we are filing an appeal."

The plaintiffs in the suit, Birda Trollinger, Robert Martinez, Tabetha Eddings and Doris Jewell, are identified in court records as employees at the Tyson plant in Shelbyville at various times since 1996.

Their suit said Tyson used a scheme involving temporary employment agencies that induced illegal immigrants to work for the company.

The judge's ruling said the plaintiffs, who brought the claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as RICO, were required to show that "they directly suffered loss of wages because Tyson employed illegal aliens."

Edgar's ruling said the wages could have been affected by other factors, such as the availability of workers and the profitability of the business.

Ken Kimbro, a spokesman for Tyson Foods, said in a statement that the company was "gratified" by the ruling.

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