The Meatpacking Factory

James Windham’s contention is revolved around break times. He had allowed his Muslim workers to take their breaks at sunrise and sunset to observe Ramadan. This caused strife with the other workers as “focus and momentum were often lost”. Windham’s moral issues are to either allow the Muslim workers their allotted breaks at specific times to let them observe their religion respectably or stripping them of the right and to run the factory under “American” style. This would include any future workers that might have other religious needs; such as those practicing Judaism as their holidays start the sunset before the actual date of the holiday (after sunset is the start of a new day rather than 12:01am for their religion) or Catholics with a holiday such as Lent where workers might have to take a break to go visit a local church to receive their cross of ashes. He wants to please everyone but at what cost?

To lay out the facts of the case, over one fifth of his work force is Muslim. Ramadan is a holiday that lasts one month where workers fast during daylight hours. Meaning that they do not need to take lunch breaks during the “usual break time” that other non-Muslim employees do. Since the Earth’s tilt and distance-from-the-Sun combination is slightly different each day, sunset and sunrise slightly differ each day as well but not by much (even right now the difference between the sunrise today and the sunrise on December 31st is only 4 minutes). The loss of productivity is due to a decrease in “focus and momentum” and the break times were “a distraction to their ability to work” due to them being erratic. This issue is held by the non-Muslim workers since they are the ones who remain on the line working and are being distracted by the Muslim workers going on break. The factory during other months would adjust breaks based on daily tasks; so the norm in the factory is flexible breaks rather than ones at X time. After Windham hired Muslim workers, productivity in the factory “had gone up measurably” and that they were the most flexible workers he has had which includes coming in early and working late upon request; something that the non-Muslim workers seldom did when asked. The factual issue is: are the sunrise and sunset breaks Muslims take for 1 month so distracting that the non-Muslim workers cannot do their jobs?

From an outsider’s perspective, possible alternative actions or policies that might be followed in responding to these ethical and conceptual issues is talking to the party that is decreasing production—the non-Muslim workers. Are they actually being distracted by fellow workers going on break? Or is it a demotivation retaliation that if 100 are gone for a break then we can slack off on the job too because production would go down a little bit anyway so what’s a bit more to anyone? What is the difference between 100 Muslims going instead of the usual amount of any workers going on break during any other month? Is it because the breaks are at a finite time period; would they like breaks as well at a finite time period too during the day? What if we make it more equal and send 100 non-Muslim workers on a break right after the Muslim ones get back from sunrise (and repeat it for the next batch till all workers got to go in a big batch like staggered lunch times in schools)? So Muslims get to observe their holiday and non-Muslims do not feel like they are being cheated out of a break of the same grandeur. What if next month non-Muslims get the same sunrise/sunset break that is the same duration at Ramadan—would the Muslim workers also get “distracted” from their ability to work? Or is it a non-Muslim only distraction? What about showing data to the non-Muslim workers on hours worked and breaks earned? Since Windham said that the Muslim workers worked more hours than non-Muslim workers perhaps it will soften the idea that they deserve the special breaks for a month. Such as “your fellow Muslim workers collectively on average worked 70 hours a week for the past year to earn the right to have non-traditional breaks during the month of Ramadan while non-Muslims worked collectively on average worked 40 hours. If you put in the same effort you too can receive special non-traditional breaks perhaps during the month of December as we near Christmas or during the summer to enjoy more of the nice outside weather”. Perhaps the non-Muslim workers need perspective? Most places are closed for Christmas Eve and Christmas, a Christian holiday that a significant majority of non-Muslims in America celebrate. What if you told the whole factory that no special breaks will be allowed to celebrate Ramadan for the Muslims and to make it fair, you will also not allow the factory to be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas. A lot of workers would be against that and hopefully realize the importance of Ramadan to Muslims is the equivalent of Christmas to Christians. Adding onto such a mock-proposal Windham can post a time table indicated the amount of hours Muslim workers had in breaks specifically for Ramadan and the amount of hours lost being closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas. The non-Muslims workers may be thinking short-term and have a group think mentality and are being clouded so this might help shake off the perceived unfairness they feel.