Swift & Company Conspired to Hire Illegal Immigrants to Cut Costs
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
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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