# Tyson Chicken has 125 on-site Chaplains ministering to it's processing plant workers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 6, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558 "2006-08-06T14:44:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/1 "2006-08-06T14:44:59Z")
Kind of interesting. Most intensive workplace+religion embedding I’ve ever heard of in an industrial environment. [Faith takes wing at Tyson](http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060806/NEWS01/608060311/1002) > [@](#): > > The Tyson program has grown to 126 chaplains and the number is growing, Alan Tyson said. “Chaplaincy was a new concept for beef and pork (entities); we are steadily adding them every year,” he said. Closes to 50 of the chaplain are bi-lingual, and they serve team members from the corporate administrative offices to processing plants, he said. > > Roger Marino, a spokesman at the Delaware poultry giant Mountaire Farms, said his company is involved in several faith-based outreach programs including one that lends financial and spiritual support to the Joseph House Catholic charity and its Joseph Workshop in Salisbury. > > A recent concert at Arthur Perdue Stadium for the charity was “a first time event to raise funds and awareness for the organization that for many years has done so much providing food, shelter and clothing for so many needy people,” Marino said in a recent statement. > > Not new > Gary Michelson, Tyson spokesman, said his company’s goal is “to abide by our core values and that includes being a faith-friendly company.” > > “Some say this is something new happening, but this has been going on for years,” Michelson said. “Hospitals have done it a long time.” > > Tyson recently started to compile data on the program, and last month, found that 95 percent of reporting chaplains made more than 20,000 pastoral contacts with team members, Tyson said. The month before, 16,000 contacts were made, he said. > > “It is as fitting for Wall Street as a manufacturing plant,” said Tyson, who collaborates activities with David Miller, executive director at the Yale Divinity School Center for Faith and Culture, which annually sponsors a Chaplaincy conference. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/2 "2006-08-06T15:23:04Z")
I’ve only been to one large beef processor. IBP in Amarillo TX. They had a Vietnamese _chaplain_ there on that shift. I assume that it’s normal for all large meat and poultry processors. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/3 "2006-08-06T15:48:58Z")
I had a whole rant typed up about forcing religion on employees, but on second thought, I think I’ll just pipe down and shaddup. Tripler I gotta ask though, how many employees does it take to require 126 chaplains? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/4 "2006-08-06T15:52:28Z")
“Some say this is something new happening, but this has been going on for years,” Michelson said. “Hospitals have done it a long time.” Perhaps, but hospital chaplains are primarily meant to serve patients and their families. Somehow I doubt these chaplains are ministering to the chickens. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/5 "2006-08-06T17:11:22Z")
> [@Eva Luna](#): > > “Some say this is something new happening, but this has been going on for years,” Michelson said. “Hospitals have done it a long time.” > > Perhaps, but hospital chaplains are primarily meant to serve patients and their families. Somehow I doubt these chaplains are ministering to the chickens. Why not? Is there ANYTHING that needs prayer more than a chicken in a Tyson factory? Can’t you just see the priest appearing at the chicken’s door and saying, “It’s almost time, Jed. Let’s pray.” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/6 "2006-08-06T17:15:47Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I gotta ask though, how many employees does it take to require 126 chaplains? :eek: 63? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/7 "2006-08-06T17:25:06Z")
When they say they’re “faith friendly,” does that include all faiths or just Christianity? Would they provide chaplains to minister to Wiccans or Buddhists? Just wondering. Do they proselytize the workers? I have this image of a bunch of lay-preachers roaming around the plant trying to badger people into accepting Christ. That would suck. It would be bad enough to have to work at a chicken processing plant without having to get harrangued about the Lord while you’re doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/8 "2006-08-06T17:28:08Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > When they say they’re “faith friendly,” does that include all faiths or just Christianity? Would they provide chaplains to minister to Wiccans or Buddhists? Just wondering. > > Do they proselytize the workers? I have this image of a bunch of lay-preachers roaming around the plant trying to badger people into accepting Christ. That would suck. It would be bad enough to have to work at a chicken processing plant without having to get harrangued about the Lord while you’re doing it. Diogenes, why are you so suspicious, so lacking in faith of human goodness, so…so CYNICAL? ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/9 "2006-08-06T17:54:45Z")
> [@Skald the Rhymer](#): > > Diogenes, why are you so suspicious, so lacking in faith of human goodness, so…so CYNICAL? If he’s anything like me, rudimentary observation skills. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/10 "2006-08-06T18:05:05Z")
I wonder if they have any [Santeria priests](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santeria#Beliefs_and_rituals) amongst their 125 chaplains? ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/11 "2006-08-06T18:30:42Z")
Minister to chickens: “Let us now bow our heads and pray…” _ **\** _ ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/12 "2006-08-06T18:48:16Z")
Hey, I’m an ordained minister, I should get in on some of this action. I wonder how much the gig pays? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/13 "2006-08-06T18:49:09Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Hey, I’m an ordained minister, I should get in on some of this action. I wonder how much the gig pays? Chicken feed? ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/14 "2006-08-06T18:51:54Z")
I’ve never had a job so shitty that I felt the need for religious intervention to get through the day. Wanting to drink, or slap people-sure! Jesus intermediaries, no. Of course I’ve never worked in a chicken abbatoir… ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/15 "2006-08-06T18:54:24Z")
I work for a UAW auto company and we have _union_ chaplains, not company provided ones. My local has a membership of nearly five thousand, with four or five chaplains available. They basically function as the official fuzzy goodwill representatives; visit hospitalized members and deliver flowers, attend funerals and hand out the bible of your choice if you have a death in the family. It’s always kinda blew my mind that the union feels paying the wages for these folks is a good use of our dues, but it’s rather oddly comforting that it’s just the union doing it and not the company. Somehow, that’s worse. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/16 "2006-08-07T03:19:23Z")
It does sound strange in an ‘opiate-o-the-masses’ sort of way. I would like to know more. On the other hand, a buddy of mine is an (unpaid) chaplain for a fire department. It too often gets him funeral gigs, I’m afraid. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/17 "2006-08-07T03:22:55Z")
I remember once years ago hearing about an NLRB case featuring sexual harassment by a manager on a chicken processing plant line. As women would be standing there doing their wonderful jobs such as “craw puller,” he would come and stick his hand down their pants. :wally I think having a few chaplains running around would be infinitely preferable! ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/18 "2006-08-07T03:33:38Z")
Boy, y’all are sure hostile towards religion. It’s not like employees are required to attend services or say the Lord’s Prayer before the shift starts. It’s just someone there who can be utilized by employees working a hard job and often living hard lives if they so choose. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/19 "2006-08-07T03:34:45Z")
Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558/20 "2006-08-07T05:10:22Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > I wonder if they have any [Santeria priests](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santeria#Beliefs_and_rituals) amongst their 125 chaplains? Hey, man. They ain’t got no crystal ball. They did have million dollars, but… well you know. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyson-chicken-has-125-on-site-chaplains-ministering-to-its-processing-plant-workers/367558.md?page=2)