Things appear to have been quiet in Greeley, Co since all the hubbub over Somalis being fired at the Swift meatpacking plant a few weeks ago. I previously surmised it was because CAIR is involved and a lawsuit is in the works.
Here is a story from a few days ago reporting that Somali community organizers are meeting with town officials to be sure “what happened at Swift doesn’t happen again.” Hat tip: Blulitespecial. So what does that mean? What does the town have to do with a labor/management issue. It looks to me like the Somalis are expecting some sort of special treatment.
The Tribune article begins:
A group of East African residents has begun monthly meetings with Greeley leaders following last month’s dispute about prayer breaks at JBS Swift & Co., and subsequent firing of about 120 Muslim workers.
Five members of the East African Community Council met with social service representatives, Realizing Our Community and Greeley Mayor Ed Clark earlier this week. The next meeting is planned for Nov. 3 at the Greeley Recreation Center.
Members of the East African Council, some of whom tried to mediate the dispute between JBS Swift and the Muslim workers, on Monday gathered information about local education, social service and employment options for the local East African community.
The point of the dialogue with city leaders, said council member Graen Isse, is “so what happened at Swift won’t happen again.”
About 16 of the fired workers got their jobs back at JBS Swift, Isse said, while another 20 found employment elsewhere in town. About 50 to 60 in the group are still looking for work, he said, and they are generally looking for assembly or cleaning jobs where they don’t have to speak English.
Yes, no sense knocking yourselves out learning English.
The article is pretty ho-hum but check out the comments, they are pretty lively. One commenter asked if the meetings are open to the public. I assume Colorado has an open government law where meetings involving elected officials are open, and those of you who want to attend should just attend!
For readers trying to catch up on this story we have an entire category on it here.