Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 10/12/11


A handful of poultry facilities in Alabama reportedly either closed or curtailed production on Wednesday due to a protest by Hispanic residents of the state against a stringent state immigration law, media reports said.

Protest organizers, largely using social media, encouraged Alabama’s Hispanics to boycott work, businesses and school for one day, to demonstrate their impact on the state’s economy. Alabama has a large agriculture sector, particularly in poultry production and processing. Companies doing business in the state include Koch, Wayne Farms, Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride and Cagle’s.

The Associated Press counted a half-dozen poultry facilities closed or limiting production for the day. In a statement provided to Meatingplace, Tyson Foods Inc. spokesman Worth Sparkman said Tyson’s two facilities in the state “will be open Wednesday but are scheduled to have limited production because of a potential shortage of workers.

“While we certainly understand the sentiment behind concerns over the new immigration law, we are not encouraging our workers to participate in a protest. We are simply adjusting our production schedule for a possible disruption in staffing so we can continue to meet the needs of our customers.”

Efforts to reach other poultry companies for comment were unsuccessful.

Alabama’s state law would require officials to, among other responsibilities, check the immigration status of public school students, allow police to hold suspected illegal immigrants without bond; bar state courts from enforcing contracts that involve illegal immigrants and make it a felony for an illegal immigrant to do business with the state, including applying for a driver’s license. The law is being challenged in federal court by opponents who say the state over-stepped its responsibilities in passing it.

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