Don’t you just love how refugees and immigrants can move on up in America. This is such a wonderful country, don’t you think? Truly the land of opportunity! Here is a case where all it took was being the mouthpiece for fired Somali workers in Greeley, CO and presto, off the meat slicing and dicing line and into the Court House.
Graen Isse came to our attention as one of the community organizers in the Greeley/Swift-bad meatpacker-fires-poor-Somalis story still on-going in that city. He was prominently on display in a news film linked in this post (hope the link to the film works for you).
Isse is also the guy who told the Arab press that the Hispanics are to blame. And, as far as I can tell, no American publication has mentioned that fact, while they have made him their go-to guy in Greeley.
On hearing that the Somali workers in Grand Island, NE were protesting too, he lamented:
Graen Isse, one of the workers fired by JBS Swift in Greeley last week, said he was saddened by the Grand Island news.
“I’m feeling bad. I don’t want anybody to be facing unemployment,” Isse said Tuesday. “I want them to have their jobs and support their families.” [boo-you know what-hoo!]
And, these reporters obviously eat this up quoting him extensively. Oh, brother!
Isse says:
— Graen Isse, one of the workers fired by JBS Swift in Greeley last week for what the company called an unauthorized walkout during their shift, said 121 workers at the Greeley plant were fired by the company on Sept. 10. He said virtually all of the workers applied for unemployment benefits on Monday and Tuesday, working through union representatives in Greeley. He said the workers also will file for hardship benefits through the union.
— Isse said six more Muslim workers were fired at the Greeley plant Monday for taking breaks to pray around sunset. Tamara Smid, a spokeswoman for JBS Swift, said via e-mail Tuesday afternoon she had no knowledge of more terminations.
— Isse said some of the fired Muslim workers in Greeley met with a representative of the U.S. Department of Justice. “They’re trying to negotiate with the company,” he said of the federal official.
— Isse said some of the fired workers planned to meet again with an attorney Tuesday night to discuss potential legal action against JBS Swift and their options for getting their jobs back. The group also met with a union attorney over the weekend.
— Isse said most of the fired workers have remained in Greeley. “I’m not going nowhere. I like Greeley,” Isse said, noting that he had an interview this week with the Weld County Courthouse to work as a translator.
Ahhhhhh! And, now they are going to give him a job as a translator in the Courthouse! Isn’t America just grand! Will there be a movie offer next?