030731 Perdue Charged With Discrimination Against Latinos

Washington - Perdue Farms will face a Justice Department investigation for discrimination and mistreatment of Latino workers at the Cromwell Complex in Ohio County, Kentucky. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 227 filed charges of document abuse with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices to stop Perdue's mistreatment of Latino and other workers.

Workers at the plant are standing up for a voice on the job and organizing with UFCW Local 227. When the workers began organizing, Perdue targeted Latino and other workers in the plant and forced them to verify all of their paperwork such as driver's licenses, social security cards, or work permits. Of the 800 workers at the plant, many of the 200 Latino workers were forced to revalidate and a small number of non- Latino workers -- a clear case of document abuse that is against federal law.

Perdue's revalidation push began on July 12th, one day after the company received notice that workers had filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a union election. UFCW Local 227's charges claim Perdue is using illegal document abuse to retaliate against workers for standing up for a voice. In some departments, only the Latino workers were forced to provide work authorization and identification while non-Latino workers were not re-verified.

UFCW Local 227 also filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for discriminatory actions against Latino workers. Some of the workers forced to re-verify their paperwork have worked at the plant for many years. Perdue also forced Spanish-speaking workers to sign documents in English without the benefit of a translator.

"Perdue is willing to break federal law in an effort to intimidate Latino workers from standing up for their rights on the job. We won't stand by and let that happen," said Gary Best, UFCW Local 227 Secretary Treasurer and Organizing Director.

Workers will vote on UFCW Local 227 representation on July 23, 2003. The Perdue plant is the only poultry plant in the Commonwealth of Kentucky where workers are not represented by the UFCW.

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