Muslims employed by Ariens are allowed to leave the production line twice a shift to pray two of the five prayers their faith requires of them daily. They prayed five minutes at a time, designating their specific duties to colleagues. Arien is “asking employees to pray during scheduled breaks in designated prayer rooms. Our manufacturing environment does not allow for unscheduled breaks in production.” Not good enough for Muslim workers. They want to stop the line.
Mind you, these Muslim workers don’t have to pray at those times. They can make up the missed prayers later. They don’t stop production lines in Iran and other Muslim countries for prayer. But here in the West, it is a way to impose Islam on the workplace, on the secular marketplace – and on their co-workers.
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Ariens Co. gives its Muslim worker two 10-minute breaks per work shift for Muslim prayer. Muslims at the company, which makes snowblowers and lawn mowers, objected to management’s recent decision to begin enforcing a policy of two 10-minute breaks per work shift. Instead, they walked off their jobs demanding Ariens allow Muslims to leave their work station whenever they want.
The enemedia is painting Ariens as racist-islamophobes, of course.
Read the chapter titled “Mosqueing the Workplace” in my book Stop the Islamization of America to better understand this de facto imposition of sharia in America. It works this way: every accommodation gives way to more demands. Everywhere American mores conflict with sharia, it is our mores that must give way.
Muslims impose their work times, their sharia on non-Muslim coworkers, and punish companies that refuse to submit. Litigation jihad is a huge industry, and American companies are being held hostage by Muslim workers.
Ariens Manufacturing will hold a news conference Monday at 2 p.m. to discuss the company’s prayer-on-the-job policy, which drew pushback from dozens of Muslim employees.
The Brillion-based company’s Chairman/CEO Dan Ariens will address the media. Action 2 News will be there and have coverage tonight.
Read a statement from Dan Ariens below.
Before last Thursday, Somali Muslims employed by Ariens were allowed to leave the production line twice a shift to pray two of the five prayers their faith requires of them daily. They prayed five minutes at a time, designating their specific duties to colleagues.
A spokesperson for the Brillion-based equipment manufacturer said in a statement, in part:
We are asking employees to pray during scheduled breaks in designated prayer rooms. Our manufacturing environment does not allow for unscheduled breaks in production.”
Those affected said praying only during a meal break goes against Muslim practice.
“If someone tells you, ‘You pray on your break,’ and the break time is not the prayer time? It will be impossible to pray,” said Green Bay Masjid Imam Hasan Abdi.
Former Ariens equipment painter Ibrahim Mehemmed held out his unemployment packet and told us, “We pray by the time. So they say, ‘If you don’t pray at the break time,’ they give us this [unemployment] paper to just leave.”
“We are open to any of the employees returning to work under the new policy or will look for openings in shifts that do not coincide with prayer time,” read a statement from Ariens. “We respect their faith, and we respect their decision regardless of their choice to return to work or not.”
Luisa Acosta (foreground) and Judy Behnke conduct some final assembly work on a snowblower Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at Ariens Company in Brillion, Wis. MARK HOFFMAN/[email protected]
An Ariens spokesperson says the policy change impacts 53 workers, ten of which have indicated they wish to stay in their current positions under the new policy.
According to law listed by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, “an employer does not have to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices if doing so would cause undue hardship to the employer… [such as] decreased efficiency” (read the law here).
“I have been 35 years in America and I’ve never heard of a company that is not allowing its employees to pray five minutes. It is absolutely discrimination on its face,” said Adan Hurr.
“Allow me to pray so that I can go back to work and do what I love to do, which is working for Ariens. But we are not allowed to do that. Yesterday what happened was just a travesty,” he said.
Imam said he has concerns for the future of the Muslim population in Green Bay. “If they got fired now, there’s no way they’ll get to stay in Green Bay. They’ll have to move to find work,” he said.
Ariens Company tells Action 2 News they “put a considerable amount of effort into finding a solution that allows for employees of Muslim faith to pray during work hours.”
“We met with members of our Somalian employee group to better understand their needs and consulted with local representatives of Muslim faith,” a spokesperson wrote.
Dan Ariens, President and CEO of Ariens, released this statement:
A letter from Dan Ariens:
I understand that the headline and story featured on WBAY appears to be alarming news about Ariens Company. It is alarming to me as well. Unfortunately this headline does not tell our story very well. As many of you know, my family has operated manufacturing businesses in Northeast Wisconsin for more than 80 years. You also may know that we have only been successful by operating under a set of Core Values. We will: Be Honest, Be Fair, Keep our Commitments, Respect the Individual and Encourage Intellectual Curiosity. We work very hard as a team to accommodate all employees with our vision of Passionate People who Astound our Customers. In our manufacturing plants we work as a team to build the best power equipment product. Like any accommodation, we put a considerable amount of time into finding a solution that would work for both the employees and the company. Our staff is committed to providing a great place to work for all employees and have met with members of our Somalian employee group to better understand their needs. We consulted with local representatives who are of Muslim faith to help provide sustainable solutions. We want to be clear that no one was terminated here. We are asking employees to use two scheduled breaks for religious observation, and are offering designated prayer rooms. Additionally, we are also offering to look for positions on other shifts that might better accommodate prayer obligations. This change affected 53 employees. More than ten of the employees have contacted Ariens Company to say they will return to work under the new policy. And we welcome their return. We continue to be open to any of the employees returning to work under the new policy and I have sent a letter to each of them re-stating that offer. Let me be clear: we respect their faith, we respect the work they have done at Ariens, and we respect their decision regardless of their choice to return to work or not. Headlines do not make a story. If you want more details, please let me know.
