OMAHA, Nebraska (AP):

Officials at a Grand Island meat-packing plant say they're taking steps to prevent a repeat of last year when a Muslim prayer dispute set off protests that led to mass firings.

With the Muslim holy month of Ramadan beginning on August 22, JBS Swift and Co officials, Muslim Somali advocates and union representatives say they're trying to accommodate workers who want to pray at sunset. The plan also is focused on minimising disruption at the plant.

"We have come to a place where Somalians are better off," said Yasin Ali, who leads the recently organised Nebraska Somali Community Association, based in Grand Island.

Hundreds of Muslim workers walked off the job and picketed in protest last September, saying they wanted time to pray at sunset and break a daylong fast. Plant management responded the next day by adjusting the work schedule to accommodate them. That fuelled a counterprotest in which other workers walked off the job, arguing Muslim workers were given preferential treatment. Management then ended the accommodations, which sent Muslim workers back to the picket lines.

Talks under way

The company fired 86 workers for walking off the job. It eventually hired back about a dozen.

"I think a lot of people went in last year, sort of flying a little blind," said JBS spokesman Chandler Keys. "Everyone got their eyes opened."

Talks have been under way since last year to understand what the workers want and need, Keys said. The company remains committed to continuing that dialogue, he added.

He declined to discuss details of any arrangement.