Meat

On June 7-8, 2012, 1,200 poultry workers at Pilgrim's Pride in Russellville, in the US state of Alabama voted overwhelmingly to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

After 12 weeks, the 1,000 AFFCO meat workers who were locked out or on strike have returned to work over the last few days following the settlement reached between the company and their union, the New Zealand Meat Workers Union, in the early hours of Tuesday, 21 May 2012.

The world's largest meat company and second-largest poultry processor announced on May 4 that it has signed an agreement to lease the Frangosul chicken-processing plants from the company's heavily-indebted owner, France-based Doux.

Unions representing poultry processing workers in the United States have spoken out strongly against a proposed new rule being promoted by the industry to replace government inspectors with industry “self-inspection” and permit significant speedup of the already dangerously fast line speeds at which chickens are processed.

At an informal meeting in Geneva on February 24, 2012, the provisional meat sector steering group agreed on the need for a framework for coordinating global, affiliate-driven work in the meat sector with the aim of improving union density, moving companies to respect union rights and raising standards for meat workers.

Talley's/AFFCO made good on its threat to dock Easter pay from workers observing overtime bans (-> see previous story) by locking out some 500 workers - in addition to the 1000 already locked-out - over the long Easter weekend from Friday through Monday.

Since Talley's vicious lockout of 1,000 unionized workers at 6 of the company's 8 Affco meat plants in the North Island of New Zealand, all 8 plants have been hit by 24- and 48-hour strikes each week as union members unaffected by the lockout have taken action in support of their locked out brothers and sisters. Further strikes are taking place on March 22-23 and March 26.

Workers arriving at the Danish Crown meat processing plant in Birkenhead, in northwest England, on March 6, found their factory shuttered. They were handed letters saying that production had ceased with immediate effect.