TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2010


KLMNO


EZ SU THE FED PAGE


THE INFLUENCE INDUSTRY T.W. Farnam


Fresh off an unexpected victoryinAlaska, the TeaParty Express movedinto the Delaware Republican Senate primary, supportingconservative commentator Christine O'Donnell and opposingRep. Michael N. Castle. Te group scoredamajor win last week when it helped Joe Miller defeat incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowskiin the GOP primaryinAlaska.


Te DemocraticCongressional Campaign Committee launched itsfirst independent ads for the general election last week, attackingWisconsin Republican Sean Duffy,aformer reality-TV star runningtoreplace retiringRep. David R. Obey. Te DCCC ad hits Duffy for supportingaplan to privatize Social Security.


Te hottestrace last week wasthe Missouri Senate contest,one of the Democrats' fewpickup opportunities this election cycle. Te League of Conservation Voters, an environmental group, and the American Federation of State, Countyand Municipal Employees spent funds in supportofDemocrat Robin Carnahan, the Missouri secretaryofstate. Te Missouri Farm Bureau reported spendingonbehalf of Republican Rep. RoyBlunt.


on washingtonpost.com T.W. Farnam takes your questions about campaign spending, special interests and moreWednesdayatnoon. Post your questions at live.washingtonpost.com/campaign-cash-0908.html


Campaign cash: Who’s spending the most on the midterms RANK


Previous rank


1


2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9


10 1 DR GROUP


American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees


League of Conservation Voters Americans for Job Security


American Society of Anesthesiologists American Future Fund


10


Our Country Deserves Better (teapartyexpress.org) Service Employees International Union


7


Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Coalition to Protect Seniors Senate Conservatives Fund


SOURCES: Federal Election Commission, staff reports AMOUNT SPENT From Aug. 30 to Sept. 5


$153,939 $121,941 $72,100 $64,150 $52,315 $52,130 $50,000 $49,952 $48,335 $34,572


100% 100%


100% 100% 100% 100%


Full breakdown at wapo.st/midtermcash


100% 100%


100% 100%


THE WASHINGTON POST Muslims file EEOC suits against meatpacking plants BY VICKIE ELMER More than 160 Muslims have


enlisted the federal government in two discrimination lawsuits against JBS Swift meatpacking plants, where they allege blood and bones were hurled at them, bathroom walls were covered with vile graffiti and company supervisors disrupted their ef- forts to worship during Rama- dan, ultimately firing many Is- lamic employees. The two Equal Employment


Opportunity Commission law- suits filed last week allege a pattern of religious and national origin discrimination and a hos- tile work environment at two plants — in Greeley, Colo., and Grand Island,Neb.The casesmay rank among the largest Muslim discrimination lawsuits since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, unleashed a backlash against Muslims in the United States, government officials said. In the last five years through fiscal 2009, religious charges have grown 44 percent overall, and 58.4 percent forMuslim workers, according to EEOC data. The JBS Swift cases, which


involve mostly Somali refugees who joined the plants’ diverse and often immigrant-based workforce, stand out not only for their size but also for their de- tails, EEOC officials said. “It’s fairly egregious when you


have your co-workers throwing bloody animal parts at you,” said Justine Lisser, the EEOC’s acting communications director in Washington. “This is a case that even after 31


years of practicing law gives me the goosebumps and that chilling feeling,” said Mary Jo O’Neill, EEOC regional attorney in Phoe- nix, who, with private counsel, represents the Colorado workers. She said the discriminatory ac- tions continue and the case could


During Ramadan in 2009, JBS Swift officials and Somali workers publicly said that issues had been resolved. Prayer rooms and interval breaks for prayers were established. But at other times, workers allege, other laborers threwmeat and fat at them.


KAISE EGAL/ SOMALI AID


Cases brought byMuslims The EEOC has filed—and won—an array of religion and national-origin


lawsuits in recent years on behalf of Muslims. The 800 complaints filed in 2009 number more than those by Jewish or Catholic workers combined. Employees originally from Egypt, India, Pakistan, Turkey and Yemen have filed complaints that they were called “Taliban” and “terrorist” and demoted or fired because of their religion or nationality. Cases can take two to three years to investigate and bring to trial, according to EEOC attorneys.


Major EEOC cases involving Muslim employees Company


Plaintiff Rekrem


11 Muslim workers


SOURCE: EEOC


after asking for and being denied changes to their second-shift din- ner breaks during Ramadan. The harassment was “suffi-


cover hundreds of SomaliMuslim workers still at the JBS Swift plants. JBS is a “legitimate company”


and “we defend ourselves vigor- ously,” saidChandlerKeys, a com- pany spokesman who declined to discuss the lawsuits. Complainants, however, have


offered stories about their work- place experiences. Hassan Abdi Farah, 70, worked processing meat in Greeley and said through a translator that he was given progressively more dif- ficult assignments. Sometimes, he said, other workers threw meat and fat at him. “It was really very bad. . . . We


were abused and we also were discriminated against,” he said. When he complained to a su-


pervisor, Farah said, he was warned not to file a complaint or he could lose his job. The Greeley case alleges super-


visors also threw animal parts at Muslim workers. In addition, workers said that they were ha- rassed when they tried to pray


during scheduled breaks and that their requests to pray during bathroom breaks were denied. The bathroom graffiti included denegrating references to Soma- lia, anti-Muslim language and use of the N-word. Then in 2008, as they began


their holy month of Ramadan, complainants allege, the situa- tion escalated. During Ramadan,Muslims are


expected to fast until sunset, whenthey then can eatanddrink. Nearly 100 Muslim employees in Colorado went to the superinten- dent office on Sept. 2, 2008, to ask that their dinner break be moved from 9:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for their religious observances, ac- cording to the lawsuit. After two days of cooperation


with the Ramadan dinner break, JBS Swift management changed the time to 8:30 p.m. and also shut off the water fountains or marked them with red tags used to signify rotten meat, according to the lawsuit. This prevented Muslim employees from getting


water after their fast. When some workers left the plant for their break, they were told they could not return. Because of this “unau- thorized work stoppage” workers were suspended or fired, the suit alleges. “Anyone who tried to go to a


prayer or kneel, those were the people who were basically thrown out,” Farah said. He re- mains unemployed in Greeley and has friends still working at the plant, he said, adding that at least fiveMuslims were fired just last week during Ramadan. “Some of them are fired because of the prayer. . . . Nothing has changed.” The Nebraska lawsuit, which


names about 90 workers and former workers, also claims the Muslims’ repeated requests to pray during the day were not accommodated. Some supervi- sors interrupted employees’ prayers, according to the suit. In circumstances similar to the Col- orado case, workers in Nebraska were fired around Sept. 18, 2008,


ciently severe or pervasive as to alter the terms and conditions of employment,” the EEOC charged. Swift, founded in 1855, grew


from a small butcher shop in Massachusetts into an $8 billion meatpacking company. It was ac- quired in 2007 by a Brazilian company and became JBS. Keys, the JBS Swift spokes-


man, described the 2008 Rama- dan incident as “a hiccup” and noted that last year’s and the current Islamic celebration have been without incident. “We handled it in a holistic


way” by bringing in Muslim and non-Muslim staff, the union and management and community or- ganizations, Keys said. Rich Vesta, president of JBS


Beef North America, added: “We’ve made accommodations for their prayers within the limits of our production scenario. We certainly honor and respect their religion.” The company later installed


two prayer rooms for Muslim workers in Greeley, according to published reports. It’s not clear


whether prayer rooms were add- ed to the Nebraska plant. “I feel they want to be a good


corporate citizen,” said Greeley Mayor Tom Norton, noting the company is moving its adminis- trative operations to the city as well as its transportation divi- sion. Many of the Somalis came to


Greeley within three or four years. “They added another shift to the plant — that’s why they moved here,” Norton said. About 1.3 million adults de-


scribe their religion as Muslim compared with 57.2 million Cath- olics and 36.1 million Baptists, and theMuslim population since 2001 has grown faster than most faiths, according to the Statistical Abstract of the United States. Overall, Muslim workers have made nearly four times as many religious discrimination com- plaints as Protestants or Catho- lics, though they represent a smaller share of the workforce. EEOC spokeswoman Lisser


said suits are brought and accom- modations are to be made for Jews, Seventh Day Adventists and Christians, too, for their holi- days and Sabbaths. —Special to The Washington Post


Defense Dept. uses thousands of musicians, spends many millions, to strike up the bands D


efense Secretary Robert M. Gates, when discussing his plans to cut back overhead


and excessive spending in the military, often makes the comparison that the number of people in military bands is larger than the number of State Department Foreign Service officers.He never indicated that the bands were heading for the budget chopping block, but when I wrote about them two weeks ago the defensive response was so great that I decided to take a second look at their cost. TheMarine Corps provided


the only solid number. It spent $50 million last year on its military bands, including $10 million to support the 130 elite musicians in theWashington- basedMarine Band, known as “The President’s Own,” whose prime mission is to provide music for the WhiteHouse. TheMarines have another 600 musicians in 12 bands around the country, costing $35 million, according to a Corps spokesman. There are no comparative


figures available for the overall costs of military bands in the Navy and Air Force, because they are carried as expenses for subsidiary organizations spread around the country and overseas. The Army, according to a


spokesman, estimates that it spends about $195 million a year on its bands, but that does not include those of theNational


WALTER PINCUS Fine Print


Guard. Altogether, the Army says on itsWeb site that it has 5,000 musicians, describing itself as “the largest and oldest employer of musicians in the country.” Based on theMarine figures,


total Defense Department spending could reach $500 million or more a year. A newArmy FieldManual describes the purpose of Army bands, a description that could apply to all the military services. It says that the mission is to “provide music throughout the entire spectrum of operations to instill in our forces the will to fight and win, foster the support of our citizens, and promote America’s interests at home and abroad.” Col.Michael J. Colburn,


director of theMarine Band, said his organization is unique in that it was organized to play for the WhiteHouse. One result is that the professional musicians who become members of “The President’s Own” do not go throughMarine basic training, nor do they drawguard duty or other activities that members of otherMarine Bands do. “That does rub some people the wrong way,” Colburn said,


“but that was what we were created to do.” TheMarine Band is in the


third year of a five-year agreement, inside the Corps, that it is to get a 2 percent annual increase in its spending budget, Colburn said. One recent change is to turn


its newsletter entitled “Notes,” in its 25th year, into a full-color, bimonthly publication. It is sent to more than 50,000 readers worldwide. The upgrade was designed “to


include more information for our patrons . . . and get word out about the band to those who are interested,” according to Dennis Buriam, a Corps spokesman. Another unusual aspect of the


bands is that those representing the Army,Navy and Air Force military academies are not cadets attending the institutions. Rather, they are professional musicians enlisted in the services and assigned to those academy bands. TheMerchantMarine


Academy Band, on the other hand, is made up of cadets at the school. In addition, costs of that band are covered by private contributions, according to ThomasW.Harrelson, a vice chair of alumni affairs for the MerchantMarine Academy. That mission has included


such things as producing CDs and even instructional videos for free distribution to educational and other nonprofit organizations. TheMarine Band, whose


tradition of being recorded goes back to 1890, produces one CD annually. This year it was called “Feste,” devoted to music “representative of the festival traditions of five different cultures,” including those of Russia,Mexico, Poland, Greece and ancient Rome, according to notes accompanying the CD. TheMarines produced 20,000


copies of the “Feste” CD at a cost of about $51,000, according to its spokesman. The Corps maintains a list of 16,000 schools and radio stations to which it sends CDs. “This IsNavy Country” is the soon-to-be-released CD by Country Current, theNavy Band’s country-bluegrass group. The manufacturing and royalty costs of producing 5,000 of them came to $9,725, according to Senior Chief Petty Officer Aaron Porter, a band member since 1986 who also handles its public relations. That cost does not include


expenses forNavy personnel, who not only perform and handle the recording process, but also those on the band’s public relations staff who produce the artwork and notes packaged with the CD. Porter said this will be the


thirdNavy Band CD produced this year. The others are “American Odyssey From Sea to Shining Sea” featuring the Sea Chanters, the band’s chorus, and “Sounds of the Season,” by its contemporary entertainment ensemble, Cruisers. A statute passed years ago by


Congress, at the behest of the national musicians union, prevents the services from selling their recordings: They must be given away to educational and nonprofit organizations. TheNavy, for example, set aside 1,000 CDs to be distributed to the annual Midwest Band Convention, attended by band teachers from around the country. Another newactivity has been


undertaken by the Army Field Band, located at FortMeade. It has produced a series of instructional videos to be distributed to music educators. They include a history of each instrument and “methods for improving tone, technique, intonation, and ensemble,” according to the band’sWeb site. Titles include “The Trumpeter’s Resource” and the “Trombone; A Player’s Guide,” with current plans to produce two newvideos annually. The service CDs have also


created a private, profitable industry made up of companies that obtain the band recordings under the Freedom of Information Act. They then re- press and package them for public sale. AlMcCree, a retired Air Force


fighter pilot, owns Altissimo Recordings, aNashville record label featuring music of the service bands.He formed it in 1991, after he retired. While serving, he wrote a song in honor of Air Force families that was recorded by an Air Force band.


Seeing that service band recordings were not available commercially, he developed a business in which the performance was free and could be pressed and resold once he dealt with getting licenses from copyright owners of the music. The services got nothing. “We are very proud of what we


do.We are providing fabulous recordings of these magnificent bands to audiences all over the world,”McCree said in an interview. His company is not alone. The


Marine BandWeb site lists eight other private firms that sell CDs using the band’s material. Asked about the service bands,


McCree said that they had “long been an instrument of military PR” and that he was aware that there had always been a “debate within the military as to whether they are cost-effective.” pincusw@washpost.com


More


Small, with big reviews: The Surface Transportation Board may be a little agency, but it scored big in the Best Places to Work survey. It’s at the top of the list of small agencies. Leaders on leadership books: The Federal Coach asked federal leaders about their favorite books on leadership. The answers ranged from Dr. Seuss to Nelson Mandela. The Federal Worker, B3


dba Fairfield Toyota 7 employees Oberto Sausage Co. 2 workers


8 Middle Eastern $785,000 $715,000 $550,000


$362,000 Settlement


Merrill Lynch & Co. Iranian Muslim $1.55 million NCL America


Date settled January 2009 June 2008


March 2002 April 2004


July 2005


A13


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