National Rabbinic Leadership Group Visits Meat Plant in Postville
Kosher Today Newsletter Report: August 4, 2008
Postville, Iowa - A group of over twenty rabbinical leaders of major Orthodox Jewish organizations and large Jewish communities visited Agriprocessors, the largest kosher meat plant in the United States, last Thursday, July 31st. Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President of the National Council of Young Israel, who organized the visit, said, “We heard the many press reports from Postville and wanted to see the conditions at the plant for ourselves.” For several hours, the group roamed the plant without any limitations, randomly interviewing workers about salaries, benefits and working conditions. Rabbi Yair Hoffman of the Five Town Jewish News filmed dozens of interviews with employees selected at random and will shortly make them available on the web. According to Rabbi Lerner and others in the delegation, the reality at the plant was markedly different from media reports, which have mostly relied on statements from UFCW officials and others in the community. This delegation was one of the first to be inside the plant since the controversy started. According to most of the rabbis in the delegation, the plant is a state-of-the-art food processing facility. The workers reported being well trained, earning starting salaries of $10 an hour, with medical, dental and vacation benefits. The rabbis also met with worker advocates affiliated with St. Brigets Church that have been very critical of the plant and its management. Rabbi Lerner explained that in an open and frank meeting, the two sides agreed to foster better communications between the church and Agriprocessors. The group promised to investigate some of the complaints after receiving more details from Church officials. Church representatives presented the rabbis with some specific cases which the rabbis then brought to the attention of management. He found that the Rubashkin family had apparently attempted to set up meetings in the past and had been rebuffed by the Church leadership.
The group met with Mayor Bob Penrod who praised the Rubashkin family’s contribution to the economic and social well-being of the town of 2,500. (The Des Moines Register published a letter on Sunday by 25 farmers in the area praising Agriprocessors for its role in the economic welfare of the region.) When asked about opposition to Agriprocessors in town, he replied, “Yes, some people here would like to turn the clock back to 1955 (a reference to an era before the Jews had arrived). Pastor Gary Catterson of the Presbyterian Church of Postville and President of the town’s Food Bank, told stories of how the Rubashkins contribute to the food bank and how they recently filled depleted shelves at his Food Bank. Jim Martin, the former U.S. Attorney of St. Louis, who became the company’s compliance officer, reported on some of the steps that have been taken in improving relations with the workforce, including instituting an anonymous hotline for worker complaints. The group saw the large posters posted near the spacious clean air-conditioned employee dining room advising the workers of the number. Ryan Regenold, Staffing M