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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.
Published: February 13, 2006, New York Times
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