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Source: Janie Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 9/17/08
A judge ruled on Tuesday that Smithfield Foods' racketeering and extortion allegations against the union that has orchestrated boycotts and protests in an attempt to organize workers will go to trial Oct. 20, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne rejected the United Food and Commercial Workers International's motion for a ruling that the union did nothing illegal, leaving the matter on the docket for trial.
The judge also rejected three of the defenses the union wanted to use in the case, which he said centers on whether the union advocated a sham election and demanded company neutrality in a scheme to gain representation without the support of a majority of the workers at Smithfield's plant in Tar Heel, N.C.
Payne did not, however, seem convinced of the company's theory about how that the union's campaign violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute, which was originally designed to fight organized crime. The AP said the judge asked Smithfield attorneys for additional briefs on that issue.
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