Owners of the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse have been facing an organized revolt from workers who are unhappy with conditions at the factory – first in the form of a class-action lawsuit against the company, and more recently in a mass walkout by employees during regular working hours. The lawsuit and the walkouts are hitting AgriProcessors, a kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa, that is owned by the Rubashkins….click HERE to read the entire article on the Forward website.
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16 Responses
This is straight l’h nad belongs on other blogs.
The issue of not being paid was and still is an issue across the meat processing industry. That is why it was fought all the way to the supreme court.
Furthermore, what is wrong with them checking the Social security numbers? Aren’t they REQUIRED to ensure that all employees are here legally and may work?? A while ago the orthodox bashing forward had an expose’ that that they hire illegals. This is hitting the papers because they are trying to ensure that the employees do not unionize. IMHO they are right.
Please be very careful as to how and what your are reporting. The Forward has had a long standing issue with Rubashkin and what they report on the issue has been proven to be biased. Your site is one that people turn to to be honest and unbiased. Please watch what and how you retrasmit because if it’s read on your page people who are uneducated about the issues take it as pure truth and the inoccent can be hurt.
i think its a bunch of disgrunted employees..we dont know whats really goin on in a multimillion dollar factory…
Indeed, this has no business being covered here. Here is what this nonsense is all about:
“Since then, the company has been the subject of an investigation by rabbis affiliated with the Conservative synagogue movement.”
“Confirmation of both walkouts also came from officials with the United Food and Commercial Workers, who have been living in Postville while trying to organize employees at the plant.”
The Conservative movement and unionism. Two failed, outmoded ideologies that are looking to rear their ugly heads from time to time.
Anything printed in the self-hating Jewish rag the Forward, which officially started as a socialist/communist paper is in all likelihood false.
The secular/liberal Jewish papers like the Forward have been waging a war against kashrus for a while now.
I would not be surprised if the anti-Torah conservatives with their special “I’m a nice Employer” mock hechsher is behind the complaints and is helping with the lawsuits. they want to show the world that they are the real ethical people and not those Orthodox people.
The Company can be in BIG TIME trouble if they don’t resolve the social security issue AND IMHO, those that used false soc sec numbers should be booted out of the country.
CLARIFICATION
IMHO Rubashkin is right
Why is this on this blog?
This is getting me nervous as to where yeshivaworld is deriving their info from? I hope more reliable sources then the forward.
Pooper has a long standing vendetta against Rubashkin and Yiddin in general.
I would like to see all rabbonim put him in cherem which means even the “na, I wouldnt read that trash” crowd would not touch it.
You prob have to wash your hands and go to the mikva after touching it!
OK.. This is something that affects the frum community , so why not on this blog? It is a valid discussion that revoloves around many areas of halacha.
I will state that I don’t think this “Tzedeck Hechsher” will get anywhere, as the Conservative constituants that do keep Kosher, haven’t really revolted about these labor issues, and teh rest of the Conservatives don’t keep Kosher and this won’t change their minds. So, no company will bother with it.
In terms of bashing the Forward. I certainly wouldn’t say that they have the mind or thoughts of the frum reader in mind, but what makes you think that their motivation is anti-frum? Simply because they happen to have issues with a single particluar company? Have they come out against kashrus? Shabbos? Anything else?
Maybe they actaully care about the rights of employees, Jewish or not? There any hundreds of Halachos that deal with how to treat employees, and yes even slaves, that are not Jewish. No, halacha doesn’t require one to allow a union, but it does require to pay fairly, in accordance with civil laws.
And yes, I have spoken with people that have been at the Agri plant, numerous times. Yes, frum people. Yes, Rabbonim. The basic concenses is that although the schechita is Kosher, there is much work that can be done to prevent much Chilul Hashem.
I fully agree, News that you may not like to hear is as news worthy as a MVA in Flatbush.
To set the record striaght, Rubashkin is well known for questionable activity in all areas not only in AgriPrcessor. The employee rights as well as the Kashrus has been in question for a while.
This is basically incitement from outside groups who would like to see their union get a foothold in Agriprocessors. One of the supervisors (2 years ago) came to management and told them he wanted the union to come in. They asked him how long do you work here? He told them. The management explained since he doesn’t have seniority in terms of years, if the union came in, he would be out of a job and someone with more time then him would fill it. The supervisor threw the rabblerousers out.
As far conservative schechitah goes, you know it’s a joke, they know it’s a joke, I know it’s a joke and their main criteria is…. it should be humane! After shechitah the lack of blood flowing to the animals brain numbs it in seconds. The actual schechitah, is the animal isn’t excited, happens so fast with a knife that is so sharp, the animal doesn’t know what happened. It usually sits there for a while pondering. The Peta video shows animals flopping around as if they were Tote shikur. Lack of oxygen to the brain, alcohol, carbon monoxide poisoning all produce the same results. The animal feels nothing. As a side note the animals loving hypocrites at PETA kill about 2000 animals a year at their Virginia Headquartes and spend $35,000 a year incinerating the dead carcasses.
The Forward has a long history of anti-frum bias. On the other hand it’s reporting tends to be fairly accurate, but as a result of its anti-frum bias its reporting will be often incomplete and slanted.
To ignore the Forward completely is difficult.
Nevertheless, anything posted from the Forward, needs an opposing article with it or it must be ignored because of its inherent bias and it reference it in a vaccum is irresponsible.
the bottom line is, if you wanna have good workers, you gotta treat them right. because if you don’t, eventually it will all catch up with you. and here, you have a jewish/religious company and it is a Chillul Hashem to everyone out there and especially to all the employees who weren’t compensated properly. it aint worth it. if you are a boss of one worker or multiple workers, be a nice boss. it is worth it all at the end of the day.
This is not about being a decent boss. This is about unions, which allow the workers, who are easy to replace as they are unskilled labor (and who are very happy when not prodded to say otherwise by shochad and threats from union organizers), to essentially boss the boss around. And because there is the threat of seeming chilul Hashem (as defined by a kook kabal consisting of fad of the month liberal Jews who may not even be Jewish al pi halacha, the Conservative movement, PETA, a couple of die hard Lubavitch bashers,, and some left wing Conservadox who don’t know their right from their left), Rubashkin is really put in a bad position by the unions and their Forward lackeys.
Avraham Aharon (“Aaron”) Rubashkin came to the US as a refugee himself and started with a little store, which is still around on 14th Avenue, and a little restaurant on 13th which is now a “cover” for a one woman chessed operation named Mrs (Rivka?) Rubashkin.
One day, one of his former workers may well open a Mexican frozen food business with meat and assistance from Rubashkin’s treyf operation (from which they sell the 70% or so of cattle that are rejected after shechita), because that is how America works. The unions, whose time passed generations ago, profit by keeping workers from getting ahead and from polarizing them against management. For the unions to succeed, not only do the workers have to be kept unskilled, but so do their children. Otherwise, there is no new membership.
And one of the reasons only immigrants will work in a slaughterhouse is that unions have spoiled the old American blue collar worker and priced his labor out of the range of anyone who wants to make a profit. That’s why not one stitch of clothing I own is made in the US anymore, even though much of it has American brand names. Now, the union wants to price immigrants out of the market by raising wages so they can squeeze the workers and bosses alike for dues.
As it is, Rubashkin, and Alle, its main competitor, both have South American operations. If Rubashkin leaves Postville, it won’t be Rubashkin that suffers, nor will it be the kosher consumer. It will be the workers employed there, and Postville, which the firm brought back to life. And shoichtim will have to travel back and forth to Argentina and Uruguay for parnosso, as many Israeli shoichtim already do.