Grinch of the Year

dori · **Posted:** Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:24 am

I hope that you will vote in the national Jobs with Justice "Grinch of the Year" contest. This year's contestants are Smithfield and Goodyear, or you can write in your own candidate. You can learn more about the candidates and cast your vote at http://www.jwj.org/grinch.html.

Read these wonderful people's actions, and their disdain for the people who work for them.

Please.

lefty · **Posted:** Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:05 am

The period at the end of the url is messing up that link, Dori.

http://www.jwj.org/grinch.html

dori · **Posted:** Tue Dec 12, 2006 5:56 pm

Thank you lefty.

Did you vote?

Catherine · **Posted:** Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:34 pm

I'd have to write in Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky and the powers at the Sea-Tac Airport who couldn't reach an agreement about displaying Christmas trees and a menorah....so the trees, which have been displayed for 25 years, have come down. :roll:

READ ABOUT IT HERE

dori · **Posted:** Wed Dec 13, 2006 10:30 am

I agree the Christmas tree story is disgust

ing (btw, they are back up now), but Smithfield is the power over lives of his workers and loves to treat them like slaves. Abuse is his middle name. He is the poster boy for all that is wrong in the American structure of how business/worker relations work.

Or don't work...

Quote:

Smithfield maintains an environment of fear and intimidation. For over ten years now, workers have fought relentlessly for a voice on the job. In 1994 and 1997, workers tried to hold a union election but were met with the coercive fist of Smithfield. After the vote count at the 1997 election, one union supporter and one union organizer were dragged out of the plant, beaten, insulted with racial epithets, and arrested.

For five years, from 2000-2005, Smithfield had it own police force with the state police power to make arrests on Smithfield property. And arrests it made. During its brief stint as a police force, the Smithfield Company Police arrested over 90 workers.

Much as the Christmas tree story disgust

s me, treating humans AND animals brutally disgust

s me even more.

Grinch of the year is too kind...

DO.g's · **Joined:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 6:19 pm **Posts:** 2533

I voted for GW Bush and the republican party as national figure who does the most harm to working families.

Had to make up a zip code.

dori · **Posted:** Fri Dec 15, 2006 11:16 am

Thank you DO.g's, why didn't I think of that?

Wonder who's zip code you got...

Darn, I already voted or I would vote for Bush/Chaney and the Rs. (Sound like a rock band, eh?)

dori · **Posted:** Mon Dec 25, 2006 2:22 am

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Elected Jobs with Justice "Grinch of the Year"

With 52% of more than 10,000 votes cast, Goodyear won the 6th annual online "Grinch of the Year" election sponsored by National Jobs with Justice. Nominated by the United Steelworkers, the company is criticized for forcing 15,000 US workers out on strike on October 5th. Despite concessions given by workers in the last round of contract negotiations that led to a billion dollar turn-around, Goodyear wants to close plants, off-shore jobs, and gut retiree health insurance.

"Goodyear truly is the Grinch Who Stole Christmas from working families this year" said Fred Azcarate, Executive Director of National Jobs with Justice. "15,000 families have been living on strike pay and their savings for almost three months, and their health benefits are set to expire on January 2nd."

Smithfield Tar Heel Division Chairman Joseph Luter III came in second place with 39% of the vote. Smithfield was nominated by the UFCW for paying workers poverty wages, failing to provide adequate medical care to injured workers, and suppressing workers' right to organize a union. The additional 9% of votes went to write in candidates. The most popular write-in candidates were Wal-Mart (winner of the 2005 and 2004 Grinch elections), the Bush administration (2003's Grinch winner), McDonalds, and Starbucks.

The 'Grinch of the Year' awards began locally with Jobs with Justice Coalitions around the country highlighting the greedy grinch in their hometowns. That tradition has remained in many areas with the Valley Park Board of Alderman winning the St. Louis Area Grinch of the Year Award for their anti-immigrant ordinance and Tacoma Macy's Vice President winning the Pierce County, WA Grinch award for promoting credit-card debt, failing to raise most workers' wages for 3 years, shifting health care costs to workers, and yelling at workers for excercising their legal right to organize a union.

Jobs with Justice is a national campaign for workers' rights. Around the country, local Jobs with Justice Coalitions unite labor, community, faith-based, and student organizations to build power for working people.

This came from an email, so I have no link.

Grinch of the Year

Who is online