While President Bush
called for immigrants to ... well ... boycott the planned boycott Monday, some companies bowed to the inevitable and simply decided to close up shop for the day.
According to AP:
Meat Companies Planning Plant Closures
Some of the nation's largest meatpacking companies plan to shut down plants Monday, anticipating many of their workers will attend immigration rallies that day.
The top three beef-producing companies, Tyson Foods, Swift & Co. and Cargill Inc., all said they were closing plants.
ConAgra Foods Inc. said it would honor requests for time off if possible, but did not plan any changes in production.
"We obviously have some employees that this is an important issue and could affect their families, friends and neighbors," said Chris Kircher, a spokesman for Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra.
Bush's plea for workers and students to go about their daily business was echoed by some surprising advocates, including Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, a staunch supporter of immigrant rights, and disc jockey Renan "El Cucuy" Almendarez Coello, one of the main voices who helped get the word out about last month's protest march in Los Angeles, which drew an estimated half a million people to the streets. According to the Los Angeles Times, the DJ declared: We are hard workers. We came to the United States to work. We should work Monday. Work dignifies us.
Backlash seems feared by some supporters, despite a quickie research survey cited in the Los Angeles Times article that indicated overwhelming favor in the region for a worker and consumer boycott. In fact, the newspaper reports, "Feelings are running so high in some heavily Latino areas that many employers don't feel comfortable not closing for the day."
The California State Senate voted to support the effort Thursday of what it is calling the "Great American Boycott 2006," according to AP.
To get an idea of what's going on in your area, check here (this seems to be Southern California-based, but it has links to other areas).