We at the Times have editorialized about the pitfalls of illegal immigration and undocumented workers. Today some of those workers, with the assistance of a Dorchester resident -- who is a legal resident as far as we know -- could end up biting the hand that feeds them.
The Associated Press reports that "former employees who say they weren't paid for work away from the production line are suing a Crete slaughterhouse." The federal lawsuit filed against Farmland Foods and Smithfield Foods alleges hourly employees haven't been paid for time spent dressing in protective gear, sanitizing tools, sharpening knives and walking to work stations, among other things.
The AP report continues: "Mauricio Guarjardo of Columbus and Maria Guzman Morales of Dorchester filed the class-action lawsuit Thursday on behalf of themselves and current and former employees going back to September 2005."
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Are you assuming the plaintiffs are undocumented or illegal? I hope not. Your story reads that way. Please confirm your information. The AP story mentions nothing about immigration status.
ReplyDeleteIs Maria male or female?????
ReplyDeleteThis is just the first domino to fall ... trust me.
ReplyDelete'Concerned':
ReplyDeleteWe are fairly confident the plaintiffs in the case are in the United States legally, regardless of their citizenship.
Entering a court of law as illegal alien would be an unwise move for any individual and his/her lawyer.
However, we contend that a notable percentage of the workers on whose behalf the class-action lawsuit was filed are, in fact, undocumented.
While we cannot prove such an assumption, recent INS/ICE raids at packing plants across the United States give us good reason for our suspicion.
At least the trial lawyers come out winners.
We appreciate your concern, 'Concerned.'
I believe the libel lawyers will come out winners once they read this "article". Your lead does indeed imply that the plaintiffs are illegal or undocumented. First rule of publishing: Never assume.
ReplyDeleteto the dweller:
ReplyDeleteway to cover your ***. Just another blunder by the blog writers.
You assume that these people are illegal.
Then you assume that it is a male.
I have said all along your blog site is here to stir up ****.
The village board takes hits all the time, then last week your blog allowed Josh Wolfe from the Crete News to be hammered becasue he didnt agree with you.
I thought it was your policy to not allow these types of comments to individuals. Just becasuse he was from Crete, he is fair game?
Best thing that could happen to this blog is if someone pulled the plug on you computer.
Quit stiring up crap and find something else to write about.
Wow, you folks at the times need to have higher standards for IQs when it comes to those leaving comments. The guy above is struggling to break double digits.
ReplyDeleteHey to keep up with the Joneses just sue................................................. it worked for me................................ and it taught my neighbor to quit spraying for weeds near my property.....................
ReplyDeletetp.....i will compare iq's with you anytime.
ReplyDeleteNo one can say they didn't see this on coming.
ReplyDeleteWhere was this story in the crete newspaper???? It's a pretty major story that could affect the county's number one employer. If those who brought the case were to prevail, you could assume that Farmland would have to cut 20%-25% of their workforce. I would be the first to applaud such a move.
ReplyDeleteYou would be a much more credibile blog if you "went after" Farmland management. Afterall, they do the hiring.
ReplyDeleteCesar Chavez lives!
ReplyDeleteYes! Those were the days!
ReplyDeleteI think I just puked in my mouth a little.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this is the proper place to leave this comment but I don't know where else to put it, and I don't want to write a letter to the editor and sign my name or I'd have vandalized property.
ReplyDeleteI do have a suggestion for the town board. Maybe our town board could pass a local law that would make anyone living in Dorchester who is not a legal alien in violation of our trespassing code. I know towns out east have done this. I don't want our little village to become a sanctuary community for people who are not citizens of our country. Also in this difficult economy, I don't want them competing for jobs that my family and friends need.
Signed,
A concerned Dorchester citizen
To concerned citizen:
ReplyDeleteI agree, laws are there and should be followed.
So lets kick everybody out of town who leave the bar drunk and drive, or the people in town who are violating village ordinances, or anyone else in town who can't follow laws of society.
Use the money from this to pave our streets.
We could have our perfect community.
Lets get the rif-raff out of town.
From the AP:
ReplyDeleteThe potential appointment of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to lead the Homeland Security Department could signal a shift in focus away from the war on terror and toward domestic concerns, especially immigration.
While she has not been a booster of large-scale border fencing projects, her state has led the way in using E-Verify -- an online system operated jointly by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to check the work status of new hires -- and penalizing businesses that hire illegal employees.
It's about time someone tell these moral elitists to shut up. These are the same people who extoll the virtues of diversity like a brainwashed robots. They have no idea what it means other than skin color. They will tell you they detest ignorance and racism, then be the first to recognize racial differences and make a stupid remark. They go out of their way to defend illegal immigrants and to bash legal residents in town who have a beer or two. I'm tired of it.
ReplyDeleteI really do wish we had more diversity in Nebraska and Dorchester ... like educated people with bachelors and masters and Ph.Ds. Lets bring in more skilled and learned Chinese, Japanese, Australians, British, Indians, Brazilians, Russians, Polish ... pick your pleasure. Instead we get shouted down because we're concerned that a bunch of uneducated, unskilled, gang bangin third worlders are coming into our hometowns illegally and bringing all their families with them to take our jobs and social benefits as the economy goes in the tank.
Call me ignorant, but you know where you can put your elitist, self loathing two cents.
Dweller, i'm surprised you people have not responded to the crete newspaper's editor and his trashing of your website this week. It was pathetic - if you won't say it i will! i know that editor and trust me, he doesn't even hold a degree in journalism or communications as you can tell by the quality of the writing. i don't have a college degree either but even i can tell he's jealous of the dorchester times site. He also said your blog opposes all hispanic immigrants. can you sue him for libel??
ReplyDeleteconcerned in saline county
'Anonymous':
ReplyDeleteOur opinion has been stated clearly in our editorials, all of which have been marked as such. We regret that our position was misrepresented in another publication.
Of course we are not opposed to all Hispanic immigrants. That is obsurd and, frankly, hate speech from the other side.
At this time, we are not going to say anything more on the issue of illegal immigration other than that time will prove our concerns valid, unfortunately.
We can tell you we will not be suing anyone. The courts have become a haven for the desperate and thin-skinned; we have no desire to join the ranks of either.
Moreover, two friends of the Times' staff -- friends who have studied communications law at four-year institutions -- assure us there are no grounds on which we could sue, and there are no grounds on which we could be sued.
The First Amendment still reigns supreme, for now.
As for The Crete News and its editor, we are flattered he mentions us frequently. We enjoy the free publicity.
However, we fear his obsession with our little communitity bulletin board is borderline fanatic. We worry about the poor guy.
He stated that our Web site had hit "a rough patch" as of late. To the contrary, it was he who ran smack dab into a wall of opposition, despite his own frequent commentary. (See the comments of our Nov. 6 editorial by clicking here.)
One thing is for certain. The editor of The Crete News, once a fine and respectable publication, has made it clear: don't confuse him with the facts. His mind is already made up.
He is clearly an activist parading as a paid journalist.
After reading the latest editorial by the crete news editor I have three questions for him...
ReplyDelete1.) Shouldn't you be dedicating more time to actual reporting? I noticed all the "stories" in the paper are written by another reporter.
2.) Are you really a Muppet?
3.) Did you know this song was written for you?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlzMrJWYobc