By Doug Cunningham

Democratic Presidential candidate Senator John Edwards is meeting with Smithfield workers today in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Edwards is calling on Smithfield to give its workers the unimpeded right to organize. A group of workers are trying to form a union at Smithfield’s Tar Heel, North Carolina hog processing plant. The National Labor Relations Board found that Smithfield violated labor law in two union elections at the plant – violations that included assaults, threats and intimidation of pro-union workers. Human Rights Watch has documented Smithfield abuses in two different reports.