The cut and kill plant has been organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 271 since May 2002—the result of a hard-fought organizing drive.

The events began on October 10 when, under pressure to keep production going, Cortez neglected to follow a safety procedure to properly shut off power to the split saw he was working with. Making the most of what they saw as an opportunity to get rid of a union leader, the bosses suspended Cortez, with intent to fire. “I knew I was really fired,” said the 26-year veteran Swift worker. “With all the pressure they put on you to keep the line running, mistakes get made,” he said. “They’re pushing us to the limit.”

Word spread quickly through the plant about the suspension. Several workers organized to relate the facts to their co-workers during the lunch breaks. That evening, they attended a meeting to map out a plan to defend Cortez. Throughout the week, between 5 and 15 people met nearly every day to organize the next steps in the fight to win the steward’s job back, with the aim of involving as many co-workers as possible.

At 5:00 a.m. on October 13, about two dozen unionists and supporters of the fight gathered in the company parking lot. They held placards reading, “The union makes us strong” and “Return Martín to work now,” and handed out fact sheets on the case. Cortez was there, greeting his co-workers as they passed by.

The demonstrators stayed put when the human resources manager threatened to call the police and have them evicted. The police never arrived.

In one and a half hours, more than 300 of the 400 day shift production workers signed a petition demanding Cortez’s reinstatement with full seniority. At lunchtime a delegation of 15 workers delivered the signatures to the bosses.

The rally was covered by television Channel 6, which also broadcast an interview with Cortez. Workers translated an Omaha World-Herald report of the action entitled, “Swift plant workers protest suspension,” and printed it on a leaflet for distribution in the plant. They also reproduced a World-Herald exposé on unsafe conditions in the meatpacking industry, and the pressure placed on workers—including many undocumented immigrants—not to complain or organize against such conditions.

Cortez’s supporters kept up the pressure over the following week. On October 14, kill floor workers signed a poster board that read, “Support Martín this afternoon! We do not accept his firing.” Following their shift, 40 workers grouped in the cafeteria in the plant’s fabrication department to press for information on the status of Cortez’s case from the human resources manager. “We encouraged everyone to put a union sticker on their hard hat as a show of unity and support for Martín and our union,” said Rafael Andrade. “Almost everyone put one on, sometimes three or four! The previous day many of us used blood to paint ‘M’ for Martín on our hard hats. People were also shouting, ‘What do we want? Martín! When do we want him? Now!’ This really had an impact on the company.”

“On Friday when we heard of our victory, we organized a celebration dinner at a local restaurant, and invited our co-workers to join in the festivities,” said Flori Andrade, a worker with five months in the plant who had previously worked at the unionized Swift plant in Grand Island, Nebraska. “Martín was back with us in the plant on Monday. It was a victory for our union, for all of us.”

“Two previous stewards had been fired for safety violations like this,” said Olga Espinoza, a kill floor union steward. “They didn’t win their jobs back because we didn’t fight. Not this time. This time we organized a real fight against this company attack on our union.”

“Some workers got scared,” said one veteran worker. “But most, rather than being afraid, got angry and wanted to fight. The company saw our union, and how we can organize. We have to unite even more, never trust any of these bosses, because they are always ready to attack.”

Cortez’s co-workers greeted his return with shouts and applause. “Thank you all for your support that you gave me,” he said. “Now we must keep sticking together and move forward.”

The incident has provoked discussions among workers about unsafe working conditions and how to combat them. One man told the Militant, “Safety is our responsibility, it’s a union responsibility. The company doesn’t care about safety. We must let everyone know that if you’re pressured to break a rule, you don’t do it. You call your steward.”

Currently safety questions are supposed to be dealt with by a joint union-company committee. “It’s become clear to me that we need an independent union safety committee, with only workers on it,” said Cortez. “No company personnel, because their interest isn’t really our safety.”

Lisa Rottach is a member of UFCW Local 271 and a kill floor worker at Swift & Co.  
 
 
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