Recognition of Muslim Holiday Stirs Fury in Tennessee

On Friday, August 1, the Shelbyville Times-Gazette ran a story entitled "Tyson drops Labor Day holiday for Eid al-Fitr" that unleashed a firestorm of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment, both of which seem far too prevalent for a nation built by immigrants and priding itself on the freedom of religion.

The story was based on an a press release from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) announcing that its new contract included a paid holiday for Eid al-Fitr, which is the most important Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Eid al-Fitr, often called just Eid, is as important to Muslims as Christmas or Easter is to most Christians. The Times-Gazette article explained that the negotiated contract gave workers Eid as a holiday in place of Labor Day.

Both Tyson Foods and RWDSU seemed a bit surprised by the vitriolic community response to a negotiated contract that addressed both worker and employer concerns. In past years it had been difficult to operate the plant because so many of the plant's Muslim workers took off on Eid, so the contract appeared to be a win-win approach. The plant employs approximately 1,200 workers of which 700 are Muslim. Among the Muslim workers are 250 relatively new Somali refuges. Unfortunately, many Shelbyville residents didn't see the contract as a win-win. Instead, many viewed the switching of Eid for Labor Day as anti-American. The reader responses to the initial articles offer a flavor of the anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments.

Commenter "kingtown" wrote that:

Laborers are the heart and soul of this country. Without the muscle and sweat of these dedicated people products aren't made or moved. You have slapped them in the face! Good job, that's just what we needed another un-American company to debase those wonderful people that keep this country going. I think I'll choose another product to use from now on. Oh, by the way Muslims are not our friends; they want all of us infidels to die. If you don't believe that to be true you had better get more familiar with the Koran before you do any more pandering to them. Then try reading John 3:16 you just can't beat them for God's truth.

Soon after the article and comments like the one above appeared, political leaders of Shelbyville asked Tyson Foods and the RWDSU to reconsider their contract. They did so quickly and the union members voted on a new agreement that gives workers both Eid and Labor Day in 2008 and then in 2009 allows workers a choice of either Eid or another paid personal day. Both the union and the company leaders should be commended for their quick response and another solution that addresses both the workers' and the employer's concerns. "We always seek to represent the concerns of the workers, while appreciating the constraints of the business leaders," said Stuart Appelbaum, national president of the RWDSU. "The United States was built with the hands of hardworking immigrants and we must always respect and honor various religious traditions."

Increasingly, unions and other worker associations that represent largely Muslim workforces, such as SEIU representing janitors or taxi driver associations, have sought to negotiate appropriate ways to accommodate their workers' religious practices into contracts, such as setting aside a prayer room or allowing workers time for prayer.

Even though Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, requires employers to accommodate the religious beliefs of workers if it does not cause undue hardship for the employers, most workers and many small employers don't understand the law. As the nation becomes more religiously diverse, employers are called upon to accommodate their workers' religious beliefs and practices in new and unfamiliar ways. This has been particularly challenging after 9-11 and the anti-Muslim sentiments in the nation. As a result, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces the anti-discrimination laws, has received many more charges of religious discrimination in the last few years than it did throughout the 1990's.