ONE: The Hot Topic

Muslim Vacation Days: The New Pluralism

A new union contract, workers at a Tyson Foods plant in Shelbyville, Tenn. Allows workers to substitute Eid al-Fitr, “the Muslim Festival of the Breaking of the Fast” for Labor Day. Eid occurs at the end of Ramadan and changes date from year to year.

After a newspaper report, bloggers criticized the contract and the union has received letters questioning an accommodation to Islam in a “Christian Country” or insisting Muslims integrate Labor Day in their lives.

What do you think about the workplace making special arrangements for various religious observances?

one: Community Standards Please Read

ONE: The Digital Dialog Community Standards and Posting Guidelines

Welcome to the Forums of ONE: The Digital Dialog. We hope you'll have a richly rewarding experience, filled with creativity, self expression and fun, as you correspond with others on the spiritual path of discovery

The goals of the Community Standards are simple: treat each other with respect and without harassment, refrain from any hate activity which slurs anyone’s religion, faith or beliefs

These Community Standards are meant to serve as an example of the style of posting we encourage here and do not limit the action we may or may not take in a certain situation. We may modify the community standards, guidelines for posting and rules of the site at any time, for any reason and without notice, and at the discretion of the moderation staff.

Provided you don't post anything disruptive and your opinions are expressed in an intelligent way, chances are your posts will not be moderated and you will not likely be banned from the forum. The overwhelming majority of our users do not violate these rules, as long as they keep them in mind when posting. Regardless, everyone should read and be familiar with these guidelines!

There is one basic principle that you should keep in mind when posting here: Think about what you're saying before you post it! Just because you can say something doesn't mean that you should say it.

Edited, Moved, or Deleted Posts/Threads:

By posting, the user acknowledges that their post may be edited, moved, or deleted at the sole discretion of the moderators, and that all posts are accepted at the discretion of ONE: The Digital Dialog.

Explanations for Edited, Moved, or Deleted Posts/Threads:

If your post is edited, moved, or deleted and the moderator responsible does not leave an explanation, you may ask about it in the Suggestion Box forum or by contacting a forum moderators.

Flaming/Bashing Other Users, Trolling, etc:

Any user who flames, bashes or insults another user, either directly or subtly using comments in sig files, custom user titles, coded messages or any other means, is in violation of the community standards, and may have their posting privileges revoked without warning.

Likewise, trolling is not allowed since it is basically an attempt to get other users to bash or flame and is subject to the same remedial actions as someone who flames or bashes.

Please DO NOT respond to flames or trolls - you'll only make the situation worse.

Please DO NOT engage in any communication that directly or indirectly encourages or incites violent and or threatening behavior.

Respect Everyone's Opinion:

Please treat your fellow forumers with respect. Just because you disagree with another user's opinion doesn't give you the right to insult or otherwise demean someone. An opinion different than yours isn't necessarily a wrong one nor does it mean that the other person is lacking in intelligence because they don't see things your way. We want our users to feel comfortable posting their opinions, even unpopular ones, without fear that they will be slammed for it. No matter how crazy or outlandish an opinion is, it is still that user's opinion and they are entitled to it.

Insults, whether direct or indirect, are not permitted.

Reporting Posts to a Moderator:

Don't take it upon yourself to chastise or "moderate" another user when they do not follow the guidelines beyond directing them to this page.

If you see a post that is inappropriate, click on the "Page a Moderator" link. You're not being a tattle tale, and the person you're reporting won't know who reported them. This is by far the best way for the community to police itself since all the moderators receive the notification.

Keep Threads/Posts On Topic and in the Right Forum:

Posting something that doesn't relate to the intended topic of a thread or forum is not allowed. Expect your post to be moved, deleted, or split into its own thread.

Creating New / Duplicate Threads:

Before creating a new thread, please check the first few pages of the forum and/or other forums to make sure the topic hasn't already been started.

Descriptive Thread Titles:

Please use descriptive titles for your threads so people know what it's about. With the sheer amount of threads on our forum, be courteous to other users by using descriptive thread titles. If you're worried about people seeing your thread and wanted to use an ambiguous title to increase your views, don't worry about it -- you'll get the views anyway, maybe more.

Discrimination:

Racist, sexist, homophobic or any other kind of discriminatory remarks or sentiment will NOT be tolerated in any way, shape or form. You will be banned.

"Adult" Material:

Sexually salacious pictures and or discussion is not allowed.

Getting Banned:

Any user may be banned at any time by name, IP address or other identification without any prior warning and without any explanation given. However, we will usually oblige the offender with an explanation if asked nicely.

Posting Copyrighted Material:

Due to copyright law you may not copy and paste entire articles on the forum. You may post quotes and excerpts from articles as long as you also provide a direct link to the entire article. In addition, do not post copyrighted photos from other websites.

Posting Personal Information:

We urge all of our users to use care regarding the personal information, including photos, that you post. Please be aware that if you choose to post personal information you do so at your own risk and we assume no responsibility for any information you choose to share.

return to top

Click here to post a comment

Posted on : 8/11/2008 11:44:11 AM by M. Breen
This is the USA and if a company gives you off holidays then those are the holidays that should be taken. I find it hard to believe that Tyson Foods does not offer personal days or floating holidays that can be used for religious observance or anything else. Perhaps that is the issue that needs to be address at all companies. I am pretty sure if we were working overseas at an Islamic based company that a Christian would have to find a way to take Christmas off, don’t you think that would be the case?

Posted on : 8/12/2008 10:58:12 AM by Phyllis
Dear M. Breen: The entire story about the Tyson plant was not given. There are a large number of Somali workers who are Muslim at this plant. In the previous year these workers took Eid off, leaving the plant without enough workers for that day. Also the plant usually is open on Labor Day. So management was happy to make this consession since it organized their work flow. The main issue, in my mind, is that good communication and consideration of differences can lead to solutions that meet everyone's needs. So Christians working in a Muslim country could work on Eid and take Christmas off if management was aware and open to such a suggestion. The giving of personal days does seem to address this issue but understanding the minority's customs helps everyone plan for smooth accommodation. I am Jewish and never had a problem with the concept of working on Christmas though, in fact, I never had to. I always viewed working on Christmas as a way to help my colleagues celebrate their holiday and keep a business functioning.

Click here to post a comment