Hearing set to determine growers' complaint with Pilgrim's

A bankruptcy judge set a hearing for next month to determine whether Pilgrim’s Pride discriminated against chicken growers when it canceled their contracts.
Nine growers are challenging Pilgrim’s over the termination of their contracts, according to an Associated Press report. The growers' attorney is arguing on their behalf that the “group was targeted because most are Hispanic, didn’t always agree with the company and some had formed a poultry club similar to a union.”
Pilgrim’s Pride attorney Stephen Youngman said the company did not violate the law and must be able to make cost-cutting measures while reorganizing. “Harm to the parties, while unfortunate, is something the court should not take into account,” Youngman told the judge. “A debtor’s primary duty is to maximize the estate.” Pilgrim's Pride terminated the contracts of about two dozen poultry producers after filing for Chapter 11 in December, and later that month announced that it planned to lay off approximately 500 workers at the Live Oak, Fla. plant where the growers’ chickens are processed.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for March 10.