COLUMBIA, S.C. — Twenty employees of the House of Raeford chicken plant in West Columbia lost their jobs Wednesday after walking out of work in protest.
They wanted a safer working environment and hazard pay.
But were these workers wrongfully terminated? News 19 set out to get answers.
If your job is in South Carolina, you're working in a right-to-work state.
In this type of situation, every worker in a plant has the protection and benefits of collective bargaining agreements - meaning an employee can get protection under a contract without becoming a member of a union.
"There are things called labor unions. They're not very popular in South Carolina since we are a right-to-work state, but you still have the right to organize under federal law. If in fact [the chicken plant workers] were trying to organize and do collective bargaining, it could be that they had some protections," said Sue Berkowitz, Director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center.
House of Raeford is a union plant under the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union Local 1996.
Valerie Barnheart, the Communications Director for UFCW Local 1996, tells News 19 that Wednesday's protest and walkout is not an act approved by the union. She says the workers and the company agree under contract how to handle issues in the workplace, and a walkout is not included in the contract. Barnheart added that they have other processes that are part of the collective bargaining agreements.
"The problem is if they don't have protections under federal organizing laws, then they really are at the mercy of their employer," said Berkowitz. "They're not going to even be eligible, at this point, to file claims under unemployment insurance."
Federal laws are in place to protect workers and federal agencies like OSHA make sure employees aren't put in dangerous situations.
As for employer's rights, Berkowitz says, "As long as it's not discriminatory, as long as they're not violating any federal laws, as long as they're not firing someone because they're organizing, employers can fire someone for any reason or no reason."
Berkowitz suggests the National Labor Relations Board as a resource for any employees who are organizing, or have any questions about their rights.
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency that protects the rights of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve their wages and working conditions.
Barnheart tells News 19 that the UFCW is pushing for safer working conditions inside food processing plants. They're calling on the Department of Agriculture to reduce line speeds, which would allow employees to have more space while working.
We reached out to the SC Department of Employment and Workforce late Thursday to ask about any sort of unemployment insurance for these chicken plant workers, and we are waiting to hear back.