Cargill

From Reuters:

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Pro-immigration activists say a nationwide boycott and marches planned for May 1 will flood Americas's streets with millions of Latinos to demand amnesty for illegal immigrants and shake the ground under Congress as it tackles reform.

But while such a massive turnout could make for the largest protests since the civil rights era of the 1960s, not all Latinos, nor their leaders, were comfortable with such militancy -- fearing a backlash in Middle America....

Immigration has split Congress, the Republican Party and public opinion. Conservatives want the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to be classified as felons and a fence built along the Mexican border.

Others, including President George W. Bush, want a guest worker program and a path to citizenship. Most agree some reform is needed to stem the flow of poor to the world's biggest economy....

Minneapolis-based agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. said it will close seven meatpacking plants so workers can participate.

In New York, leaders of the May 1 Coalition said a growing number of businesses had pledged to close and allow their workers to attend a rally in Manhattan's Union Square....

Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles archdiocese, who has emerged as an outspoken champion of immigrant rights -- even calling on priests to defy laws aimed at those who would help illegals -- has lobbied against a walkout.

"Personally I believe we can make May 1st a 'win-win' day here in Southern California," Mahony said in a statement. "Go to work, go to school, and then join thousands of us at a major rally afterward."

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the son of a Mexican immigrant who has long fought for immigrant rights, has taken a low profile on the issue. A Villaraigosa spokeswoman said the mayor expects protesters to be "lawful and respectful" and wants children to stay in school.

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But let's look at Cargill. More about Cargill from the Fort Morgan Times:

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Cargill Meat Solutions will shift production from Monday, May 1, to this Saturday, April 29, to support employees who want to participate in a national day of action for immigrants and their supporters.

"It was very clear to us that immigration reform is a very emotional issue," said company spokesman Mark Klein.

Cargill's Fort Morgan plant can process up to 4,500 head of cattle a day, and about 70 percent of its 1,900 employees are Latino.

After absenteeism to attend April 10 rallies slowed production at a Dodge City, Kan., Cargill plant, company officials and employees held discussions on upcoming rallies, Klein said....

A corporate decision was made to shift production from Monday to Saturday at Fort Morgan and four other beef plants, the one in Dodge City, one in Nebraska and two in Texas, Klein said.

Also, pork plants in Ottumwa, Iowa, and Beardstown, Ill., will be closed Monday; there will be no Saturday production at those plants because pork demand is down following the Easter holidays, he added....

A major concern for Latinos is House Bill 4437, which would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant.

The bill provides no earned legalization process and no additional tools for employers to verify employment eligibility, Klein said.

Cargill favors legislation that would provide a legalization process and more verification tools, he added.

"The notion that you can just remove 11 million people (a figure from a Pew Hispanic Center computer-generated model) is absurd," Klein said. "Those people are here because the immigration system doesn't work."

There need to be rational solutions, he added, and making people felons is not one of them.

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So it's no surprise that Cargill has made a target list of companies that support illegal aliens. From a comment in The Stein Report:

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The below letter is one I compiled to my Senators and Rep. My senators are Cornyn and Hutchinson my rep. is Burgess. The letter below only asks that we enforce current unenforced laws. It was written with the help of the website wehirealiens.com. Feel free to cut and paste the alleged hirers of illegal aliens and e-mail and fax them to your congresscritters.

Since the Senate wants the illegals to come out of the "SHADOWS" so bad here is a list of the SHADOWS. These companies are all national and flaunt the law. Just a notice of investigation should demagnetize these shadows. Also you should give these "SHADOWS" the know how of Basic Pilot the same time you are informing them of investigation. This will definately demagntize the "SHADOWS". The law to enforce is already in place! This "AMNESTY" or "GUEST WORKERS" scheme that John and Teddy McKennedy have cooked up is just another excuse for cheap labor and open borders. Isn't it great that we don't need any more laws. Simply go after the "SHADOWS". Here is a list to start from.

24 Hour Fitness
5 & Diner
99 Cent Store
A%H manufacturing
ABCO systems of NJ http://www.abcosystems.net/
ace telecommunications
Acme http://acmemarkets.com
Advanced Cleanroom Microclean Corporation- Janet Ford http://www.advcleanroom.com/index.html
Advanced Drainage Systems
AFE Industries http://www.afeindustries.com/
Ahead, Inc http://www.aheadweb.com/
Albertsons http://www.albertsons.com
Allstar Landscaping
Aluminite of Ohio
American Apparel http://www.americanapparel.net
Anthony International
Applebee's Restaurant http://www.applebees.com
ArthroCare http://www.arthrocare.com
Atelier Zavier Fine Draperies
Axcess Staffing Report Employer!
Baja Fresh Mexican Grill http://Bajafresh.com
Bar-S http://www.bar-s.com
Best Western Hotel
Big Lots Discount Retail http://www.biglots.com
BJ'S RESTAURANT
Blue Cop Jean Factory
Blue Water Environmental http://www.bluewaterenvironmental.com
BMW
Bravo Development Inc Brickman http://www.brickmangroup.com
Brickman Group http://www.brickmangroup.com
Brookfield Homes
Burger King National http://www.bk.com/
Cagles keystone foods LLC
california family fitness californiafamilyfitness.com
California Pizza Kitchen http://www.cpk.com
cargill meat packing
Cargill, Inc. National http://www.cargill.com/
Carls Jr.
castone
Catalina Graphic Films / GMI http://www.catalinagraphicfilms.com/index.html
Cedarwood Nursery http://www.tnnursery.com/Cedarwood/Retail/index.shtml
Centon National http://www.centon.com
Champion Safe Co. http://www.championsafe.com
Cheesecake Factory
cholestech http://www.cholestech.com
Cici's Pizza Evansville,IN National http://cicispizza.com
Cintas Corp.
Cintex Homes http://www.centex.com/
Coach USA
Coast Cafe at Embassy Suites La Jolla National embassysuiteslajolla.com
Contour AeroSpace http://www.contouraerospace.com/
Cree, Inc. http://www.cree.com
Crossland Construction http://www.crosslandconstruction.com
Culver's
DCX-CHOL Enterprises (Newvac Electronics Div.) http://www.newvac.com/contact.html
Dell, Inc
Department of Defense http://www.defenselink.mil/
Department of the Air Force
Department of the Army
Department of the Navy
DeRoyal http://www.deroyal.com
Doubletree Golf Resort http://www.hiltonworldwide.com/en/ww/company_info/employment.jhtml
Edwards Wood Products http://www.ewpi.com/
El Rodeo / Mi Hacienda Inc
Electrolux
Embassy Vacation Resort http://secure.sunterra.com/US/rs-l3.aspx?resort=EVM
Empire Carpet National www.empiretoday.com
ENRAMEX
Enramex-Arturo Fernandez Gallegos
First Operations,LLP.
Flying J Truckstops
Fortune Plastics http://www.fortuneplastics.com/
Freedman Seating http://www.freedmanseating.com
Funai Corporation http://www.funai-corp.com
Gale Insulation www.mascocontractorservices.com
GARNEY
General Aluminum http://www.gactx.com
Global Employment Solutions https://www.gesnetwork.com/aboutgloballocations.aspx
Gold Kist Poultry Broiler Agency
Golden Corral National http://www.goldencorral.net/
goldpoint lodging and realty company
Great Dane Trailers
Green Giant/ Seneca
griffin ind/bakeryfeeds http://griffinind.com
Harris Moran Seed Company
http://www.harrismoran.com
Heatherwood Apartments
Hehr International http://www.hehr-international.com/contacts.htm
Herschend Family Entertainment
http://www.hfecorp.com
hickory springs HICKORYSPRINGS.COM
Holiday Inn Express http://www.seaworldhi.com/
Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com
Honeywell
Hooters
HUBBARD ENTERPRISES
Ironies
J. Alexander's Restaurant http://jalexanders.com
Jack In The Box
Jason's Deli
Jean Petit Poultry, Inc.
JMR Electronics, Inc. http://www.jmr.com/
John W McDougall, Co
Judy Goldfinger
Kansas Dept. of Motor Vehicles
KB Home http://www.kbhome.com
Kiwi Carpet Cleaning http://www.kiwiservices.com
Kmart
Koch Foods http://www.kochfoods.com
Korozu(Calsonic) kroehler manufactoring
La Madeleine French Bakery & Restaurant http://www.lamadeleine.com
Land Of Myth And Not http://www.landofmyth.com
Leggett and Platt
LG Electronics
LVI Services http://www.lviservices.com
Mall of America http://www.mallofamerica.com
Manchu Wok www.manchuwok.com
Manhattan Bagel-Blimpie-TCBY
Marriott Vacation Club
MASSON CHEESE/ MANNY MARIN
MASTERGAURD CORP.
McDonald's
Mericam Farm/Jan Jelsma
Merry Maids http://www.merrymaids.com
Mobile Modular Management Corp. http://www.mobilemodularrents.com/
Mountaire Farms http://www.mountaire.com/home.html
Mowhawk Industries, Inc. http://www.mohawkind.com/
N.A.L.D '' Eddie Hakim
National Beef Packing l
Nordqiust sign http://www.nordquistsign.com/
Office Depot http://www.officedepot.com
Palace Construction www.palaceconst.com
Pardee Homes
Pep Boys
PETER GRIMM HEADWEAR
http://WWW.PETERGRIMM.COM
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation http://pilgrimspride.com
Precision Fiber
Quantum Business Engineering http://www.quantumbe.com/email.html
Quiznos http://www.quiznos.com
Radisson http://www.radisson.com/
Richard Leeds Intl
RND Enterprises
Round Table Pizza
Sage Landscaping
http://www.sagelandscaping.com/about.html
Sam’s Café National http://www.sams-cafe.com/
SAP Andina Caribe National http://www.sap.com/andeancarib
Sears
SEENO HOMES
Shear Metal Production
Silverline Windows http://www.silverlinewindow.com/indexFlash.cfm
smithfield foods
Solo Cup Company http://www.solocup.com/
Sorrento Cheese http://www.sorrentocheese.com
Southwest POS http://southwestpos.com
Spears Manufacturing http://www.spearsmfg.com/
Subway
http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/index.aspx
Super D/Phanthom Distribution http://www.sdcd.com
Sweet Sue Kitchens
Swift Beef Company http://www.swiftbrands.com
Syngenta Seeds http://www.syngenta-us.com
sysco
Taco Bell
Target http://www.target.com/
The Finish Line http://www.finishline.com
the hayes co./fence co. http://www.hayesco.com/
The Maids International http://www.maids.com/default.aspx
The Shaw Group Inc http://http://www.shawgrp.com/
The Wellmark Company, L.L.C.
http://www.wellmarkco.com
TIMCO http://www.TIMCO.aero
TNT Logistics
Toll Brothers INC. http://www.tollbrothers.com
Top Heavy Clothing
trinity marine
TruGreen Landcare
Tyson http://www.tyson.com
U.S Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/
U.S. IMMIGRATION
U.S. LAWNS http://USLAWNS.com
Universal Form Clamp Co. http://www.universalformclamp.com/index.php?src=
US Marine Corps
http://www.marines.com/page/usmc.jsp
USPS National http://www.usps.com
Valley Thrift Store (Vietnam Veterans of America) http://www.vva.com
Vandor inc., Lyon Co.
Volt Services Group http://jobs.volt.com
Wabash National http://www.wabashnational.com
Waffle House Unit No. 1373
http://www.wafflehouse.com
Walmart National http://www.walmart.com
Waste Management http://wm.com
Wells Fargo Bank
Wendy's http://www.wendys.com/
Wenke Sunbelt Greenhouses
Williams Construction Company
Wyatt Resources INC http://www.wyattresources.com
Peco http://www.pecofoods.com
Mallory Construction Inc.
http://www.malloryconstructioninc.com
elephant bar restaurant
J.A.T. Constuction, Inc
RAR Landscaping http://www.raroutdoorservices.com/
Behr Process(Behr Paints
Molded Acoustical Products http://www.mapeaston.com
Chipotle
miscellaneous Specialties
Tex http://www.texadelphia.com/

Posted by: Continue the Fight on April 13, 2006 01:09 PM

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And look what 60 Minutes turned up on Cargill. And here's Mark Klein again, the Ludo Cremers of the meatpacking industry:

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If you ever go out looking for the American heartland, when you get to Schuyler, Neb., you’ll know you’ve found it....

Eighty percent of the first graders at Schuyler Grade School are Hispanic. But that wasn't always the case. Back in 1985, there wasn’t a single Hispanic student at this school. Today, Schuyler is moving to a different beat – and that’s fine with Schuyler’s mayor, Dave Reinecke.

"What would you rather have, if you were living here in Schuyler?" asks Reinecke. "Would you rather have growth, or would you wanna pick and choose where they came from?"

This town of 5,000 is home to so many immigrants because of the Cargill Meatpacking Plant on the edge of town. Eighty percent of the plant’s 2,100 workers are Hispanic. But this is not your typical story about making it in America.

Ivan Hernandez and Juan Marino of Mexico have worked at the plant under false identities. They can’t show their faces because they’re in the United States illegally. And, they say, they’re hardly the only ones.

"I think if the immigration services raided any of the meat plants in the area, I think all the plants would be left with practically no workers," says Hernandez, who adds that 40 percent of the workers at the Cargill plant are here illegally.

It's a number that is disputed by Mark Klein, Cargill's public relations officer. "I don’t think it’s possible," says Klein.

"How many would you estimate are what we call ‘illegal immigrants?’" asks Simon.

"I have no reason to suspect that any of them are," says Klein.

To get a job with a company like Cargill, you need papers. 60 Minutes Wednesday sent two staffers - production assistant Ignacio Garcia, and cameraman Ray Bribiesca - to Nebraska to find a man known in Schuyler’s Hispanic community for peddling documents.

Posing as illegal immigrants looking for work at the Cargill plant, Garcia and Bribiesca went undercover and found their man, bar owner Michael Cuba.

Garcia asked how much he’d have to pay for a Social Security card and a birth certificate. Cuba said the price was $1,300 for both. Garcia wanted to know if the Social Security card would be authentic. Cuba said yes. Then, Garcia and Bribiesca told Cuba they’d come back in 48 hours with the money.

Schuyler’s police chief, Lenny Hiltner, knows that stolen identities are being sold around town. How? By the phone calls he gets all the time from angry Americans. "And that ranges from the city of Schuyler to Texas to California," says Hiltner. "Victims that have had their identity stolen, and have found that they’re either wanted in Nebraska...."

"In other words, a guy sitting in a Texas finds out that he’s wanted for a crime in Nebraska, then calls you, realizing that somebody has stolen his identity?" asks Simon.

"Correct," says Hiltner....

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And incidentally, 60 Minutes tackles the issue of the jobs that Americans don't want:

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Many American towns have been kept alive by the wave of illegal immigrants. But this has given American businesses little incentive to raise wages on the low end of the scale. And many will tell you that illegal immigrants are only doing the jobs Americans don’t want.

"They are taking jobs that Americans will not take at that wage. Let me give you an example. Janitors in Century City and Beverly Hills, 10 years ago, were all making $11 an hour," says [Los Angeles talk show host Terry]Anderson. "All of those companies got rid of the Americans, broke the union, brought in illegal aliens from Mexico and El Salvador. Paid them five bucks an hour. You gonna tell me those black janitors don’t still want those $11 jobs? Sure they do. They would probably be $15 jobs now. But guess what happened? They weren’t gonna take ‘em at $4 and $5 an hour."

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But if you have concerns, contact Cargill:

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Corporate Headquarters Call Us
1-800-CARGILL (227-4455)

Mailing Address
Cargill, Inc.
PO Box 9300
Minneapolis, MN
55440-9300

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From the Ontario Empoblog (Latest OVVA news here)