Swift & Company Conspired to Hire Illegal Immigrants to Cut Costs
December 16, 2006
By Sudeep Reddy / The Dallas Morning News
Former workers at
Swift
& Co. in Cactus, Texas, have
filed
a federal lawsuit (PDF) that accuses the company
of conspiring to replace them with illegal immigrants
to hold down wages.
The 18 plaintiffs are asking for
$23 million in exemplary damages, plus the back
wages they would have received if they had remained
employed, among other damages. The case was filed
Friday in federal court in Dallas.
Two Dallas law firms representing
the workers are using the federal
Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, or
RICO, originally intended to prosecute the Mafia.
In Greeley, Colo., Swift officials
didn't respond to calls for comment, but they
have repeatedly denied wrongdoing since federal
officials this week swept into their plants in
Cactus and five other sites, detaining 1,282 workers.
U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials
haven't pressed charges against Swift, but more
than 100 workers from Guatemala and Mexico have
been charged with criminal identity fraud. Hundreds
of immigrants at scattered locations are still
waiting processing by the federal government,
though some have opted for voluntary departure.
The plaintiffs are led by a 61-year-old
former union steward at the plant. They allege
that Swift engaged in a scheme to depress wages
by bringing in the illegal immigrant workers through
a pattern of racketeering. The filing does not
detail the alleged scheme.
A related lawsuit had already been
filed in a Dallas County civil court on behalf
of many of the same former workers. It began as
a worker injury case, and RICO charges were added
in October. Also in that case, Swift denied wrongdoing in
court pleadings.
E-mail
dsolis@dallasnews.com
<< BACK TO IMMIGRATION ARCHIVE