Workers at Tyson to pursue wage suit
Posted on Friday, February 15, 2008
The poultry workers who alleged that Tyson Foods Inc. conspired to depress wages by hiring illegal aliens plan to fight a federal court decision that tossed their lawsuit.
The long-contested court battle over whether Tyson Foods Inc. harbored illegal aliens was dismissed Wednesday with prejudice — so the case can’t be filed again — but plaintiffs said the court erred in its 30-page opinion and they would appeal.
“We’re disappointed with the decision. We think that the judge’s conclusion that we could not establish the percentage of illegal workers that Tyson hired is incorrect. We could do that, and we are going to appeal the decision,” Howard W. Foster of Chicago, the chief plaintiff attorney, said in a telephone interview Thursday.
The Tyson managers named in the suit filed Nov. 16 for summary judgment, which the court granted Wednesday.
Tyson off icials said it pleased them to see the case end without going to trial.
“This case has been a long, unnecessary ordeal, covering almost six years, and [Wednesday’s ] ruling confirms what we have said all along, that these claims were without merit,” Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said. “Our company makes a concerted effort to hire properly and abide by the law.”
The original suit was filed in 2002 by Birda Trollinger and other former Tyson workers in the District Court of Tennessee in the Eastern District, Winchester Division.
The plaintiffs contended that Tyson top managers, including Chairman John Tyson, Chief Executive Officer Richard Bond, retired Chief Administrative Officer Greg Lee and Senior Vice President of External Relations Archie Schaffer III, violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
The suit was thrown out with prejudice shortly after it was filed in 2002 for failing to state a claim against Tyson — for instance, what damages were allegedly caused. The U. S. Court of Appeals for the 6 th Circuit in Cincinnati reversed that decision and sent it back to Tennessee in 2004.
In the new dismissal Wednesday, District Judge Curtis L. Collier said the plaintiffs failed to show evidence that Tyson harbored illegal aliens at seven plants across the South. Those plants were in Shelbyville, Tenn.; Center, Texas; Glen Allen, Va.; Sedalia, Mo.; and Ashland, Gadsden and Heflin in Alabama.
Collier said the plaintiffs did show evidence that Tyson was concealing illegal workers at its Corydon, Ind., plant but failed to show that those actions caused damages.
The past few weeks have seen a flurry of motions and responses in the case.
That was true even Wednesday, when the court set a pretrial conference between the attorneys for Feb. 22 to provide witness lists and other procedural information for the hearing.
The trial had been set for March 3 before the suit’s dismissal.
Mickelson said the plaintiffs ’ claims were based on federal charges that Tyson successfully defended in 2003 before a Tennessee jury.
“We’re extremely pleased by the court ruling and are especially gratified that the claims were dismissed with prejudice, which means this case is over,” Mickelson said. Foster disagreed. He said the prejudicial dismissal won’t preclude him from filing an appeal, which he intends to do within 30 days, at the same court that previously remanded the case. Two calls placed to a University of Arkansas law professor seeking an opinion on the appeals question were not returned Thursday. “It’s dismissed for different reasons this time. It would be a different kind of appeal,” Foster said. Tyson shares fell 16 cents, or 1. 16 percent, to close at $ 13. 68 in Thursday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
To contact this reporter: dirvin@arkansasonline. com
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