Tuesday 11 September 2007
Omaha, Nebraska - A major union plans to file a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday, seeking an injunction to stop federal officials from conducting what the union calls illegal workplace raids.
The lawsuit to be filed by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union alleges that federal officials unlawfully detained workers and violated their rights during raids of six Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in December. A draft of the lawsuit was provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The raids, which drew national attention for their scope, ended with more than 1,200 workers arrested by ICE officials investigating identity theft. Union officials have said more than 12,000 workers were detained during the operation in Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Iowa and Minnesota.
Union president Joseph Hansen planned to formally announce the lawsuit, which names eight workers and the union as plaintiffs, Wednesday in Washington.
"Workers were denied access to phones, bathrooms, families and legal counsel. Some were handcuffed and held for hours. Others were shipped out on buses," Hansen said in a copy of his planned remarks.
"Thousands of workers, citizens and legal residents who broke no law, committed no crime and who were not even alleged to have broken a law or committed a crime were criminalized for showing up at work, and they and their families suffered the horrible consequences," Hansen said.
"From what we've heard from the complaints, they are baseless," said ICE spokesman Tim Counts on Tuesday.
Counts said ICE attorneys had not yet seen the lawsuit, but planned to fight it vigorously.
Counts said civil search warrants gave the agency the right to fully search the plants and question everyone there.
Counts said workers were allowed to use their own cell phones, company phones and even the phones of federal agents during the operation.
A Department of Homeland Security official referred questions to ICE.
In addition to stopping the raids, the lawsuit seeks incidental damages for workers who say their rights were violated.
The Food and Commercial Workers union represents 1.3 million workers in the United States, including 250,000 workers in packing and food processing.
Brazilian firm JBS S.A. acquired Swift from a private equity firm for about $1.5 billion (€1.09 billion) in July. The purchase made the company the world's largest beef processor.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement: http://www.ice.gov
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union: http://www.ufcw.org
Swift & Co.: http://www.swiftbrands.com
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