Ok this is getting more than a little annoying…
From the Rocky Mountain News:
The union representing Swift & Co. workers went to federal court to seek an immediate injunction against agents raiding the company’s processing plants in Greeley and five other states.
“Essentially, the agents stormed the plants, many of them in riot gear, in an effort designed to terrorize the work force,” said Mark Lauritsen, director of a division of Washington-based United Food and Commercial Workers International.
The union represents 1.3 million workers, including those at most of the Swift plants and at other meat packing facilities around the country. All of Swift’s plants are unionized except for the beef facility in Hyrum, Utah.
Lauritsen, in a statement, described Swift workers as “innocent victims in an immigration system that has been hijacked by corporations for the purpose of importing an exploitable work force.”
Swift said in a statement that the raids “raise serious questions as to the government’s possible violation of individual workers’ civil rights.”
The union said it has advised all the detained workers to exercise their right to have an attorney and to remain silent until they confer with legal counsel.
Well there it is, the commie Union is actually trying to STOP our government from enforcing our immigration laws. The Left in this country are going to destroy the country. This is ridiculous and I don’t want to hear about the illegal aliens personal problems back home; go home and deal with it!
**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let us know at what level you would like to participate.
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Comments: 45
**"Essentially, the agents stormed the plants, many of them in riot gear, in an effort designed to terrorize the work force,"**
Of course they were in riot gear, there were protesters on scene.
**"The union represents 1.3 million workers, including those at most of the Swift plants and at other meat packing facilities around the country."**
Nice, time to open an investigation against the union, something is up.
**"Lauritsen, in a statement, described Swift workers as "innocent victims "**
Nice try, they arent victims, the victims are the people they stole Identities from.
You can be a democrat and get the illegal alien enforcement side, but your party sure doesn't agree. I honestly do not see how any rational thinking person can associate themselves with the democrat party anymore, I know I can't. Don't get me wrong the Republican party is no prize either. sure is a lousy deal having only two parties to vote for right now.
Zell was the last Democrat I had respect for, we will see how the new so-called "Blue Dog" democrats do with the party in power. I am trying to be hopeful, but it is not looking good.
The Radical right and the radical Left agree on more than you might think. the political spectrum is not a straight line it is more like a horseshoe.
I first had an experience after Nam in a "closed shop", a stinking drop forge factory. I had no choice but to pay, yet received no benefits during a 'probationary' period.
YES Nanci - they are robbing a new generation.
Interesting segway, but the problem with hitting the employers is the law, they have to prove they "knowingly hired illegal aliens", that is a tough burden
I agree, proving who is who has become the real task. Since there is so much resistance to a national ID card and probably the same for a national database to track SS #s through employment records, a gaping loophole remains for illegals and the people who hire them to walk right through.
http://www.ufcw.org/about_ufcw/friends_and_allies/
Remaining workers describe raid
Staff Reports
December 12, 2006
"There was a tense five minutes when an ICE supporter arrived and called from the fence line to ICE agents: "I support what you're doing, and a lot of people support what you're doing. *Protesters ascended on the man and chased him toward H Street*. Greeley police followed as *the crowd shouted threats against the man and his family*. Greeley police officers brought a cruiser to get the man out of the area."
Cont'd through link........
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20061212/NEWS/61212022
New buses arrive, protests continue
December 12, 2006
"As the buses left, a thinning crowd of 150-200 shouted at Greeley police officers assigned to help control the area.
One man screamed in the face of police: "We're not going to take this anymore. We're going to fight back."
Another yelled: "You break up these families at Christmas time. Give these people some answers."
Early reports said protesters planned to block the buses exit, but police parked their cars in front of the crowd to prevent that. Crowds pushed down part of a barricade near the entrance to the plant, *until SWAT team forces arrived. Andres Guerrero, who teaches Spanish at Aims Community College, joined the protesters. He said, "In ten years we're going to take over the southland, trust me. "This is our land and always will be our land*."
Cont'd through link......
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20061212/NEWS/61212020
This number is the DHS comment line. Agency in charge of ICE.
Comment Line: 202-282-8495
I agree, but submitting SSN's of 000-00-0000 or the same SSN for multiple employees should be a start.
Many of the earnings reports in the ESF that we examined have serious
data problems and are particularly likely to be submitted by certain
types of employers. Of the 84.6 million records placed in the ESF for
tax years 1985-2000, about 9 million had all zeros (e.g., 000-00-0000)
in the SSN field. For 3.5 million records, employers used the same SSN
to report earnings for multiple workers in a single tax year. About 1.4
million records had SSNs that had never been issued by SSA, and over
260,000 were missing a first name. Certain types of employers were most
frequently associated with incorrect earnings reports. For example,
limited data provided by SSA show that 43 percent of the employers with
earnings reports in the ESF are from only 5 of the 83 broad industry
categories, with "eating and drinking establishments" and "construction
and special trades" being the top 2. A small portion of employers also
account for a disproportionate number of ESF reports. For example, only
about 8,900 employers--0.2 percent of all employers with reports
recorded in the ESF for tax years 1985-2000--submitted over 30 percent
of the reports we analyzed.
http://www.gao.gov/htext/d05154.html
I would say that this company knowingly hired illegal workers.
I don't think that ICE should have to prove that someone knowingly hired illegals.
That must be a common practice.
"Swift officials apparently knew that a massive, nationwide raid was imminent, and in late November it fought unsuccessfully in a Texas court to try to win a preliminary injunction blocking the raids."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5210832,00.html
Of course, knowing how the Feds work, there will soon be an order from ICE management authorities in Washington, DC for them to stop their "raids" on Swift, paid for, of course, by the politicians that Swift contributed funds to.
I already called about 10 minutes ago and definitely gave them a piece of my mind. I told them that I am going to make sure that I let US citizens throughout the country know where their donations are going.
They said--"we are not helping the criminals, we are helping the children and the families". I said---there are many US citizens in our prisons with children at home, are you collecting money for those children? I said--there are over 47 million legal US citizens in our country without healthcare--including children--is the United Way collecting funds for those children. I left them speechless.
Anyways, here is the contact information. Please be sure to pass on all of this information--as now is the time of year that the United Way collects donations at businesses throughout the country.
United Way starts fund for Swift workers' families
By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News
December 13, 2006
"The United Way of Weld County today established a fund to help the families affected by Tuesday's immigration raid of the Swift & Co. plant in Greeley.
The non-profit agency already has received several hundred calls from residents asking how to help the families and a pledge from Swift & Co. to donate money in Greeley and five other cities impacted by the raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, said United Way spokesperson Tori Baldwin."
Donations can be sent to United Way of Weld County, P.O. Box 1944, Greeley, Co. 80632 or residents can contact the agency at 970-353-4300.
Here is why the union is supporting and defending the illegals---Look who is supporting them----MALDEF and La Raza!!!!
http://www.ufcw.org/about_ufcw/friends_and_allies/
Here's that United Way chapter's description of who benefitted from their contributions. I'm sure there were plenty of American kids with parents in prison who were helped:
--------
Here are just a few of the results of generous contributions to United Way of Weld County during 2003.
2,058 homeless individuals were provided shelter.
12,358 emergency food boxes were distributed to hungry families.
4,072 nights of safe shelter were provided to victims of domestic violence until they could become self-sufficient.
52,738 home delivered meals were provided to frail elderly.
28 low income youth received drug and alcohol treatment.
2,840 hours of mental health counseling was provided to extremely low income individuals and families.
5,666 hours of adult daycare (for seniors with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, or other illnesses that prevent them from safely being at home) for low income seniors.
7,283 calls were made to United Way 2-1-1.
102 very low income children received quality child care while their parents moved towards self sufficiency.
1000 families of newborns received a home visit from a trained volunteer to link them to community resources, provide information about brain and language development and child abuse prevention information.
256 sexually abused children were interviewed, received medical care, and/or referrals to counseling in a safe environment.
188 abused and neglected children in the court system were matched with community volunteers to ensure that they reach safe, permanent homes.
11,368 children in Weld County received Body Safe education to prevent sexual and physical abuse.
5,275 youth (boys and girls) received mentoring, tutoring, after school care, scholarships for rural recreation programs, or leadership and character development activities.
More than $5,000 worth of school supplies were provided to very low income children to improve school readiness.
750 youth and adults were trained in suicide prevention skills and 36 youth received support services following the suicide of a loved one.
156 children with developmental disabilities were provided with services to enhance school readiness. Families of 123 severely developmentally disabled children received respite care of other family support.
65,128 hours of volunteer service were provided to 55 non-profit agencies or schools sites by volunteers.
...doing what matters!
http://www.unitedway-weld.org/second.php?id=8
-----------
By the way, Brenda, what about those kids/families who are actually American citizens? Should the United Way ignore them, too?
I am sure that there are a large majority of people who do not want their donated funds going to illegals. I would say that the illegals have definitely received enough from legal, US tax payers.
They should be sending the funds to all of the people who had their social security numbers stolen and used by the illegal invaders. They should be sending the funds to the innocent victims (or their families)--that were injured/killed by the illegal invaders.
If people want to make sure that their money is being spent the way that they want it spent--they can make private donations to the various charitable organizations.
..."you're indignation is misplaced and is another thinly-veiled attack on people who don't look or talk like you."
is uncalled for..
I don't think any of us is completely unsympathetic to the illegals, (and they are not immigrants, immigrants spend long times and often money to become that), plight, but with manufacturing work disappearing in the US because our "leaders" won't level the playing field by maintaining any form of import regulation to do so,... so they can support 'globalization' you can't really blame ANYONE living paycheck to paycheck for being angry at having their wages artificially depressed..
I posit to YOU that all this resistance to a 'living wage' for "gutting chickens", or other forms of hand labor is as much carping by degreed workers not making much more themselves, and not being able to feel superior more than, "is another thinly-veiled attack on people who don't look or talk like you."
...and why NOT resist colonization by people who, criminal to start with, insist on exporting money to foreign countries, demand (by refusal to assimilate) extra language support, paid for by those whose ancestors DID learn the lingua franca of the land, and call it what it is. Colonization.
If ANY money is to go to those families if should come from SWIFT inc. who have been making money on their backs thru all this and let the stockholders be accountable for such widespread business practices?
Unions are against a guest worker program because they are not union members or forced to join the union in union shops.
Simple... hence the Democrats voting pattern that confuses my wife.
Now Republicans are for a guest worker program and less in favor of amnesty for the opposite reasons.
Now, The President, who I voted for twice, is a Mexican loving, open border, one world internationalist.
If something isn't done very soon, America will be country with illegal immigrants working in the factories, and we Americans will be working part time at Wal-Mart for minimum wage and selling products made in China.
I reject your characterization of "colonization", while agreeing that Swift should accept some responsibility. Actually, Swift probably has some culpability. Which should point out to us how our entire federal system has been broken and has contributed to some of these people being illegal - artificially- and unreasonably-low legal immigration quotas, lack of acknowledgment of economic realities, and not enforcing at the employer level.
Brenda: Thank you for changing your tune. I agree that people who disagree with United Way decisions should give directly to charitable organizations they support directly. That is what I do, too.
"The United States now accepts over one million legal immigrants each year, which is more than all of the other industrialized nations in the world, combined. "
http://www.carryingcapacity.org/100000.html
How do figure our legal immigration limits are "unreasonably low"?
According to the govt, it was less than 1 million/yr over between 2000-05. In '05, about 158,000 persons who listed Mexico as their most recent country of residence, obtained legal permanent residence here. (By the way, that's about 1/7 of the 2005 total.) http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2005/OIS_2005_Yearbook.pdf . I withdraw my comment about the immigration quotas (I must have been thinking of historic use of immigration law), but the apparent fact that most are coming here without going thru the process would suggest that there are problems reconciling our process with the apparent need for these persons in our economy. Thus, my comments about economic realities and lack of enforcement at the employer level. We need to address all of the pieces of the puzzle, and we need to do it in a way that keeps us true to the purpose of our nation. Thanks, Mike.