Nov 28 2007
Smithfileld Foods Files Suit Against UFCW
A racketeering lawsuit filed by Smithfield Foods could deter unions across the nation from criticizing corporations, some legal experts say.After a 15-year struggle to fend off unionization of Smithfield’s giant Bladen County plant — the world’s largest pork slaughterhouse — the company is alleging that the union amounts to a criminal organization.Smithfield is one of a handful of corporations fighting unions with a federal law often used in mob prosecutions. As a result, the suit has taken one of the Southeast’s largest union fights into new territory.
This is sadly what too many unions have evolved into today. Unions had their place in our country’s history and they produced many of the fringe benefits enjoyed by today’s workforce, however they are now an antiquated fixture in the labor market and some of them do more harm than good. This is a good example. I hope Smithfield gets awarded a judgment in this suit because these kinds of sleazy activities by strong armed unions have got to stop. They have outlived their purpose and now they exist only to exist.
