THE SMITHFIELD TIMES – A law firm founded by ex-Trump administration officials is asking the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares to investigate Smithfield Foods, alleging that the world’s largest pork producer’s efforts to hire a diverse workforce discriminate against white males.
America First Legal – founded in 2021 by Stephen Miller, an ex-adviser to former President Donald Trump – alleged in June 13 letters to the EEOC and to Miyares that the company “knowingly and intentionally uses race, color, and sex as a motivating factor in its employment practices.”
Ray Atkinson, senior director of external communications for Smithfield Foods, called the two letters “logistically and legally flawed.”
The letters reference language in the company’s 2023 sustainability report in which the company pledges by 2030 to “increase the racial diversity of our leadership team by promoting and hiring qualified Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented individuals to positions of supervisor and above in support of our current goal of 30% representation” and hire “qualified female leaders to positions of supervisor and above in support of our current goal of 35% representation.”
The letters also take issue with Smithfield Foods’ goal of increasing “production facility spending with minority-owned businesses by 14% to achieve a more inclusive supply chain by 2025.”
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“Over 80 percent of U.S. farmland owned by Chinese corporations or investors is owned by Smithfield Foods. Located in Smithfield, Virginia, Smithfield was purchased by the Hong Kong-based WH Group for $4.7 billion in 2013. At the time, it was dubbed “the biggest Chinese takeover” of a U.S. corporation, one of the U.S.’s biggest producers of industrial meat.” – SENTIENT MEDIA
The EEOC letter characterizes Smithfield’s statements as “targeting white males based on their skin color,” while the letter to Miyares alleges the company to be “working hard to intentionally reduce the number of white men in Smithfield’s workforce.”
Foods denies both claims. “The fact that we are providing opportunities for previously underrepresented minorities to advance their careers does not mean we are discriminating against anyone,” Atkinson said.
“Smithfield is committed to a culture in which every employee is engaged and in which merit is the ultimate criteria for all employment decisions.”
As Miller himself is not an attorney, both letters are authored by Julia Haller, senior counsel to America First Legal and an ex-special counsel to the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration.
“All Americans deserve equal treatment under the law, and none should ever face discrimination because of the color of their skin … ”
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