Iowa A.G. files child labor charges against Agriprocessors
News brief below.
Links to the AG's criminal complaint and affidavit here.
(JTA) – Following the filing of criminal charges against owners of the kosher meat producer Agriprocessors, the Orthodox Union says it will withdraw its kosher certification of the company within two weeks unelss new management is hired."Within the coming days, or lets say a week or two, we will suspend our supervision unless there's new management in place," said Rabbi Menachem Genack, the O.U.'s head of kosher supervision.
Genack's comments came just hours after Iowa's attorney general filed criminal charges against Agriprocessors and its owner, Aaron Rubashkin, for child-labor violations.
On Tuesday, the attorney general's office charged Rubashkin, his son Sholom, and three human resources employees with more than 9,000 violations of Iowa's Child Labor law, according to a statement from the attorney general's office.
Former workers had alleged child labor violations at Agriprocessors almost immediately after a massive immigration raid at the plant in Postville, Iowa, the country's largest kosher meatpacking plant. The company has denied having knowingly hired underage workers.
"All of the named individual defendants possessed shared knowledge that Agriprocessors employed undocumented aliens," said the affidavit filed Tuesday in Allamakee County District Court. "It was likewise shared knowledge among the defendants that many of those workers were minors. The company's hiring practices encouraged job applicants to submit identification documents which were forgeries, and known to contain false information as to resident alien status, age and identity."
The alleged violations, which date back to September 2007, are each punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of between $65 and $625, the attorney general's office said. An initial court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 17.
Agriprocessors has been under the gun since a raid on May 12 resulted in the arrest of nearly 400 employees on illegal immigration charges. Following the raid, employees alleged they were shorted on pay, forced to work long hours and were the targets of sustained sexual harassment.
In May, the company announced that the Postville plant's manager, Sholom Rubashkin, would be replaced. Months later, Rubashkin is still a regular presence at the plant and no replacement has been named.
The attorney general's complaint represents the first criminal charges to be brought against the company's owner and senior management.
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September 10, 2008 – Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Jewish Labor Committee, issued the following statement on the latest developments regarding the Agriprocessors kosher slaughterhouse and meat processing plant in Postville, Iowa.
The 9,311 child labor violations issued by the Iowa Attorney General yesterday confirms our opposition to Agriprocessors’ workplace practices for over two years.*
The Jewish Labor Committee hopes that all appropriate legal penalties be applied to the firm. The public must know that the need to respect all labor laws – including, but not limited to, child labor laws—is taken seriously by the relevant government agencies as well as by employers, and that violations of these laws will be taken seriously as well.
We wholeheartedly support the Orthodox Union when it stated that it would withdraw its kosher certification of the company within two weeks unless new management is hired. Whatever faith consumers might have had in the current management is gone. It is time for the Rubashkins to step aside and allow responsible employers to run the plant and continue production to provide a quality product for consumers, including, of course, those in our community who follow kosher dietary laws.
Since the ICE raid in mid-May, nearly 400 Agriprocessors workers and their families have suffered from broken homes, imprisonment, destitution and deportation. Community life in Postville, IA, has been disrupted for months before the employers were taken to task for their role in this scandal. We question now, as we did after the raid, why it was that serious investigations into Agriprocessors’ negligence and lawlessness was preceded by – and delayed by – such a massive ICE raid.
It is possible that additional charges relating to violations of OSHA and EPA regulations, as well as claims of sexual harassment and dangerous working conditions, may soon follow. We reiterate our hope that justice be done in these cases as well. This is necessary so that the legitimate needs of the workforce, the company, the consumers and the community-at-large are all met.
We believe that ultimately the best way to ensure the rights of the workers at Agriprocessors is through a union contract. As the liaison agency linking the organized Jewish community and the labor movement, we offer our help in any way possible.
Jewish Labor Committee
25 East 21st Street New York, NY 10010
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* Agriprocessors: JLC Policy Statement, May 23, 2008
http://www.jewishlaborcommittee.org/2008/05/agriprocessors_jlc_policy_stat_1.html
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CR
09/11/08 12:26 PM
It has been suggested on other blogs that the OU’s “days, weeks” deadline is designed to allow Agri. enough time to shecht and process enough meat before shutting down for the Tishrei yom-tovim. Yanking their hashgacha at that point will be far less damaging than doing so now.
Regardless, the OU skipping down is effectively a death sentence to Agri., I think.