Muslim meat workers to discuss prayer conflict

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Muslim workers involved in a prayer dispute at a Grand Island meatpacking plant are scheduled to meet Sunday to decide what to do next. Mohamed Rage, who leads the Omaha Somali-American Community Organization, said Saturday that workers at the JBS Swift & Co. plant wanted to hold another protest, but that he urged them not to. Instead, Rage said, they'll meet Sunday to talk about a resolution. Muslim workers - most of Somali background - have been asking for accommodations with break times to allow prayer at sunset. The issue led to walkouts at the plant this week - not only from Muslims, but also from non-Muslims who protested such accommodations as preferential treatment. The plant employs about 2,500 people, not including managers. About a fifth of them are Muslim. Rage said 80 Muslim workers were thrown out of the plant after an altercation late Thursday. When they tried to return for their shift Friday, he said, they were fired, along with 70 other workers. Seventeen to 19 others were fired late Friday, Rage said. "They were praying, and praying became a violation in the plant," he said.