Two Unions Face Civil RICO Suits

Litigation

Posted Dec 11, 2007, 01:37 pm CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Two companies have filed civil racketeering lawsuits against unions trying to organize their workers.

Smithfield Foods Inc. filed a suit in October against the United Food and Commercial Workers that claims a union campaign at its North Carolina plant is "designed to destroy Smithfield's public image and inflict maximum economic damage," the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.).

A second suit filed last month by Wackenhut claims the Service Employees International Union used strong-arm tactics in its effort to organize the company’s security guards, resulting in lost company contracts, the story says.

The unions deny the charges in the suits, filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in federal courts in Virginia and Florida. University of Minnesota law professor Jeff Grell says the allegations are designed to get the public’s attention.

"RICO grabs the headlines and demonstrates to shareholders and the public how seriously Smithfield and Wackenhut disagree with the unions' allegedly false statements," Grell told the newspaper.

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