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Title: Hertz suspends 34 Muslim workers for praying on the job
Source:
globalpost.com
URL Source: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/ ... m-somali-drivers-praying-clock
Published: Oct 8, 2011
Author: staff
Post Date: 2011-10-08 05:44:17 by Ferret Mike
Keywords: None
Views: 2067
Comments: 4
The Hertz car rental agency has indefinitely suspended 34 Somali Muslim shuttle drivers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for praying during the workday. The Hertz car rental agency has indefinitely suspended 34 Somali Muslim shuttle drivers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for praying during the workday, The Associated Press reports. The workers’ union, Teamsters Local 117, has responded by filing an unfair-labor-practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against Hertz for failing to notify the union in advance of what it claims is a policy change, the AP reports. All Hertz shuttle drivers are allowed two paid 10-minute breaks, in addition to lunch, during their eight-hour work shifts, and the Muslim drivers used their breaks to pray, Seattle Weekly reports. Tracey Thompson, the secretary-treasurer of the workers’ union, said Hertz verbally agreed during negotiations last year that the Muslim workers would not have to clock out for prayer breaks, even though all employees are required to clock in and out when they go on breaks, Seattle Weekly reports. The Muslim workers didn’t want to clock out because they didn’t want to feel "monitored" while praying, Thompson told Seattle Weekly. She added that the union had timed their prayer sessions, and they took around 5 minutes. Hertz denied it had made such an agreement, the Seattle Times reports. Instead, the company claimed it had been trying for some time to enforce the terms of an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission settlement it reached with the workers two years ago that required all workers to clock out for all breaks. "We felt it was reasonable for our Muslim employees who need to pray a couple times during the workday to clock in and clock out," Hertz spokesman Rich Broome told the Seattle Times. Broome told Seattle Weekly that the workers would not be allowed to return to their jobs "until they agreed to follow the rules." According to the AP:
Customers stand in the lobby of a Hertz car rental location in New York, N.Y., in April 2010. Hertz has suspended 34 Muslim workers at its Seattle-Takoma International Airport location for praying while on the clock. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
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#1. To: Ferret Mike (#0)
So they weren't suspended for praying, the were suspended for not clocking out on their breaks.
There are lots of Muslims working at Portland Saturday Market, mainly in food booths or security. When I worked for that market no Muslim took breaks to pray unless it was their regular time off. The head security guy is a retired Egyptian general who even would go into a private office to pray as not to disturb the market i any way. I don't have too much sympathy for crying foul for having to work for time they are paid for.
#4. To: Ferret Mike (#2)
Good point Mike.
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#2. To: Thunderbird (#1)
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