Tyson Foods

Greatwide has leased rigs there.

 

I live about 1 hour from their Goodlettsville plant, and 1 1/2 hours from their Shelbyville plant. Can I get hired here in Tennessee?

 

1. Tyson does not have an Owner Operator fleet, they did for a short time after a buy out of IBP, who had O/O, they sold the branch to GreatWide under contract. So at this time Tyson does only company operations

2. Tyson announced that they are in a hiring freeze for Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as Texas. They have announced that they are hiring in Nebraska and some of the other midwest states.

3. As far as which company to work for between Central Ref and Tyson, I work for Tyson, they have probably one of the best benefits packages in the business, good equipment, I just got a brand new International, most of our fleet is no older than 2006.

4. You cannot go to the plant to get a job driving, only to work in the plant. They can give you an application and who to contact. You can go online to the Tyson website and look under drive for tyson and apply there as well, a recruiter will call you the next business day for more information.

 

The key word here is "Known". I am sure they can claim no known illegals since most packing house operations primarily use 3rd party labor sourcing groups to provide workers. That way they can claim a position of "plausible deniability". I am quite familiar with Tyson, Swift, Hormel, etc and how they side step legalities. I live in Iowa and real close to several packing plants. Hardly a day goes by that there isn't an article in one or more of the local papers on the high jinks going on. Those of us with very close ties to agriculture see things more clearly than those that are not. Never the less, whether it is going on at every packing plant or not, it is just a modern version of slavery. The Postville, IA plant raid proved that. 12 year olds being forced to work 14 hr days, workers having to kick back large portions of their checks to pay to live in company sponsored apartments, etc. Illegal Mexican workers are only what people think of. There are several nationalities of workers being exploited at these plants. At Postville, Chinese workers were being smuggled in via Chinese organized crime groups. After the workers were at the plant, they conveniently disappeared into society after a few weeks there. That doesn't even cover Somalians and others. When ICE was doing their raids, it was interesting how every plant had a reduction in workers showing up on days that ICE was supposed to be raiding a facility. Every single packing plant in Iowa, during those raids, suffered reduced productivity due to large numbers of workers refusing to show up to work, obviously worried that they would be "busted" by ICE. Guess what, that included Tyson directed facilities. As recently as 2006, the courts cleared the way for workers to bring class action suit against Tyson for depressing wage standards by hiring illegal workers. A couple of years ago, a Tyson operation in Sioux City, IA was investigated under RICO for violations of hiring illegal workers. They were offered a chance to settle with the Government with a $100,000 fine. A couple of years ago, in Alberta, a Tyson operated facility was found to be assaulting workers they had "imported" from Somalia because they were protesting poor working conditions. Doesn't take a lot of effort to find out these things. Do a google on tyson and it is amazing what you can find.

Used to be, not so long ago, that working at the packing plant was a good profession and a worker could expect to earn enough to provide a good living for his/her family. But the unions got busted and now it's primarily low wages that are not realistic to raise a family on. They can hire "questionable" workers and then conveniently terminate their employment just before they reach 90 days and then would be eligible for benefits under Iowa law. Heck, these idiots even convinced inner city Chicago people that couldn't find work to come to Iowa and work the packing plants in NW Iowa. Then terminated them just before the 90 day provision and these same people are now on welfare and causing problems for us. Check this out with law enforcement here in Iowa if you don't believe me. Tyson is just one player at the game. Real good citizens these managers are.... they pay low and just cost shift the problems onto the community. Not only will they exploit foreigners, they have no problem doing it to U.S. citizens. But they were legal citizens. Boy, that makes me feel warm and fuzzy about Tyson.

I have nothing against the foreign workers being at these plants. They are just trying to make a better life for themselves. But the managers of these plants that take advantage of it and exploit these workers are worthy of having a set of cross hairs placed on their forehead.

I have done my homework. And the accusation stands. And their products are not on my table, buddy. One of the advantages of living on a farm. The meat we eat is livestock locally processed by people we know or is game that we process ourselves. The quality is better and no modern slave labor was involved. No hormone fortified and genetically manipulated livestock operation stuff processed by underpaid workers on my table. And since I prepare meals at home to keep in the truck fridge to heat and eat, not even getting that junk on the road.

 

Very good post,end of story.Its too bad not many people can think for themselves anymore,just dum down.

 

Anybody know if they're hiring out of the New Holland PA facility? I'm in Philly so it's pretty convenient to me. I have a pretty good job now but always looking, never know what might come along.

 

Love the know it all trucker...I worked at the slavery plants that you call them...I was a line supervisor...and in Alabama where the average pay was at that time $6.00 per hour, Tyson was paying EVERYONE a starting hourly rate of $7.37 per hour. This was an acquisition plant that had a union in it before and had to keep your precious union...meanwhile the plant 17 miles up the road was starting people at $9.27 per hour. EVERYONE from the hispanic sanitation worker (and before you have some unresearched wisdom about why they were cleaning instead of working the line...most hispanic families do not own a car, or there is only one in the family, so they ride together to work, being the smart and economical thing to do, so they all work together on the same shift, makes it easier to utilize the car better...not because the big mean corporation wants the "inferiors" to clean toilets or however you would put it.) The reason that the union plant had lower wages is because they have to wait 2 years for the union to come together and negotiate a new contract with the company in order to accept any changes in benefits or pay...meanwhile the union is taking out dues from the people that are making less than what they would be making had the unions political machine not been there. So to continue...this pay is standard starting pay for all employees, in the lower income states such as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, etc. I started working there because in Alabama I could be working in a foundry for some temp agency making minimum wage working my ### off or I could go to work for a chicken plant. A $4.00 plus increase in potential hourly pay is why we and everyone else works there. The benefits such as retirement and insurance is available to EVERYONE...I cant speak for every food processing company, but I KNOW and have EXPERIENCED in the plant that you say is working slaves is by far incorrect. Now I must admit that the facility I worked at had also employed work release prisoners...and yes they were not paid the same...the prison system was paid what they would normally make, and it was put into a payoff system where the prisoner could pay off his time working for wherever the prison system contracted them to work. And about those red blooded Americans needing the jobs...if it wasnt for the prison work release program at that facility, the production would have had to shut down because around tax time...everyone else quit their jobs and went on shopping sprees till the money ran out and they begged for their jobs back. The only ones working...prisoners and immigrants. Because they had to work, they needed to work, and feed their families or work for their freedom...so preach to the choir elsewhere. But I say...believe what you want to believe, say what you want to say...I have worked for this company for 10 years now, they have taken care of me...and are a good company to work for...oh and by the way...I am hispanic.

 

drkwlf1969,
Am glad that you like Tyson and are willing to defend them. As a huge company, there are a lot of things wrong with it BUT there are a lot of things right with it. Have thought about applying for a driver's position myself. Do they make ya'll wait as long as non Tyson drivers for loads?

BTW, take Oklahoma off the list. They closed the plant in Ponca City down. Cost cutting measure , dontcha know.

 

Hey if anyone is intersted, I called Tyson today to see if they're hiring out of New Holland PA. They have one shuttle position open for this facility. The lady said you have to live within 50 miles of the terminal, Im in Philly and it only takes an hr or so to get there but she said I'm too far.Don't have any other info and I just called the number on the Tyson website. Good luck....

 

I'm impressed that they pay sooo well! Try to raise a family of 4 on those wages. The wages you mentioned are NOT A LIVING WAGE. Taking what packing plant workers were making in the 70's and factoring in inflation and such, today those same workers should be making around $25 an hour STARTING wage. But you seem to like those low wages. So be it. Now take out for income tax, SS tax, state tax, health insurance, property tax on your home, auto insurance and tags, sales tax, a portion for a retirement account, etc and see how far that wonderful $9.27 an hour takes you, a wife, and a couple of kids. That WAS the American experience before wages got depressed by hiring outsiders that would undercut existing wage scales. I could care less if there is a union or not. Haven't and don't have the desire to ever be in a union. I have no dog in that hunt. But present day wages should be at least near the same, buying power wise, as they were over 30 years ago. But then this is why so many U.S. citizens do not take these jobs. Packing plant work is darn hard and somewhat dangerous. Sure, maybe these places were paying more than the temp work at the foundry, but that doesn't mean they are not still screwing the workers. They could easily double the pay scales of packing plant workers and only effect the pricing of products by a percent or two. And then we wouldn't have a high unemployment rate, other business' in the area would have to likewise increase their wonderful $6 or $7 and hour starting salaries, and we wouldn't have to have this illegal alien problem. Sure, prices for what you purchase would go up a little, but not on the same scale as the increased wages. Likewise, I could give a rip if you are hispanic. What's the point. I never brought race into it, I only complained about ILLEGALS. I didn't know Illegal was a race. I only brought up nationalities. Did you read the nationalities I mentioned? But with the new PC culture we live in, maybe Illegal is a nationality or race after all. Basing how great the pay is by the standard low wages of surrounding business' seems sad instead of realizing that the wages of the entire area have become depressed because there are workers that will settle for low wages because they can't get more than a $1 an hour in their home country.

Not a "know it all trucker", just an educated person that takes the time to research out what is going on. I invested several years in Army tying to protect the way of life I grew up in. But it was for nothing since most seem to be complacient with low wages and decreased standards of living while corporate business owners skirt the law and paid politicians are willing to look the other way. But then, I guess it is hard to keep the old American ideal alive when so many have no idea what it means.

I actually feel sorry that you seem content to settle for less. But you're happy and that is all that counts I guess.