5 AV 5768 Community AUGUST 6, 2008 HAMODIAC6

Special Feature

By Rabbi Yochonon Donn

Agroup of 25 rabbis,mashgichim, askanim andjournalists arrived last

Thursday in Postville, Iowa, totour the Agriprocessors plant.They were a group of concernedcommunity activists who volun-teered to join a fact finding mis-sion. They talked to the plant’soperators and questioned theworkers for any hint of harass-ment, seeking to find out if thereis any substance to allegations ofmismanagement and mistreat-ment made in the past few yearsby several animal rights groups,immigration activists, membersof the Conservative movementseeking to promote their “hechsh-er tzedek,”* and townspeople.

“If we’re going to be askinghard questions,” Rabbi YehielKalisch, national director of gov-ernment affairs for AgudathIsrael of America, said to anAgriprocessors spokesman, “wemight as well start now. How did

you think this mission could beeffective if you had known aboutit a week in advance?”

The spokesman replied that itwould have been impossible forthe company to make all the nec-essary preparations just to put upa good appearance in a singleweek. He added that it wouldhave been very dangerous for agroup of 25 people to visit a meat-packing plant without any priorarrangement.

As the group toured the site, itbecame clear that this hugekosher meat company, which isthe primary source of livelihoodfor Postville residents and themain tax base for the town, wason a sure legal, moral, and ethicalfooting.

The usually off-limits plant,operated by Aaron Rubashkinand his sons, was opened to thegroup, comprised of a broad arrayof American Jewish leaders fromorganizations such as AgudathIsrael of America, the NationalCouncil of Young Israel, theOrthodox Union, the RabbinicalCouncil of America, Rabbanimaffiliated with Chabad, and otherindependent Rabbanim. Thiswriter went along as the repre-sentative of Hamodia; the YatedNe’eman, Chabad Online, and theFive Towns Jewish Times were alsorepresented.

The trip was launched with ane-mail sent out to key Jewishleaders by Menachem Lubinsky,CEO of Lubicom Marketing andmarketing agent for Rubashkin’s.He asked how people could standby while the Rubashkin companywas being savaged by the mediaon a weekly basis. Articles werewritten against them which werelater proven false, he said, yet

nobody was hearing the realstory.

In a follow-up teleconferencecall, Rabbi Pesach Lerner, execu-tive vice president of theNational Council of Young Israel,suggested that the only way forthe Jewish leadership to be ableto verify the facts and report backto their kehillos would be toarrange a fact-finding mission toIowa. Several weeks later, Mr.Lubinsky reported to RabbiLerner that the Rubashkins hadagreed to the undertaking, andhe arranged the trip at RabbiLerner’s discretion. A cross-sec-tion of Jewish organizations wasinvited to participate.

The Mission BeginsAfter a tiring flight from vari-

ous points across the UnitedStates, the New York contingentarrived at their hotel in Madison,Wisconsin, at about 12:30 p.m. forfive hours of shut-eye. The nextmorning, they set out for thethree-hour trip to Postville, daven-ing along the way. The scenicviews and cornfields in literallyevery backyard provided a beau-tiful backdrop for the trip.

The mission factions con-verged in Postville, a midsizedrural community of 2,500 resi-dents in northwestern Iowa, on abrilliantly sunny day.At one pointthe group was ordered to goinside the building for fear of atornado, a reminder to the mostlyurbanite crowd of a weather pat-tern usually seen only in newspa-pers.

After a visit to the PostvilleYeshivah for krias haTorah and aquick cup of coffee, the groupproceeded to the plant, in front ofwhich a huge “Agriprocessors/

Postville” flagpole was visiblefrom a distance. The missionbegan with breakfast and intro-ductions, and then the groupdrove to the mammoth planthousing Agriprocessors’ meat andpoultry operation.

Mr. Chaim Abrahams, directorof purchasing and operations forthe company, escorted the grouparound the facility. He showedthem the workers’ locker roomsand the huge air-conditioned din-ing hall where the employees ate.

They were then shown theslaughterhouse. The groupdonned hard hats, white robes,beard nets and shoe protectors,and then passed through a “shoecleaner,” a device that scrubsclean the shoes of all the workersand visitors who enter the facili-ty.

As the group was about toenter the building, a suddenpower outage threw the entireplace into darkness, but the prob-lem was soon corrected.

In the factory, huge machineswere churning out hot dogs andsalamis. A conveyor belt woundthrough the plant, with eachworker performing a differenttask at stations along the way.Pieces of meat the size of mini-vans hung in various areas of theroom.

The Rav Hamachshir ofAgriprocessors, Harav MenachemMeir Weissmandel, shlita, pointedout the lengths to whichRubashkin goes to ensure thatthe shechitah process is conduct-ed as purposefully and calmly aspossible. He pointed out that twoworkers attended each poultryshochet in order to make sure hedoes not feel rushed; one pre-pares the chicken for the shochetand the other positions it for she-chitah.

Investigating the Rumors“We have all heard many

media reports coming out ofPostville about theAgriprocessors plan,” said RabbiLerner before the trip. “We want-ed to see firsthand the status ofthe facility’s equipment andmachinery, examine the workingconditions at the plant, andobserve how the employees arebeing treated.”

The central accusation againstAgriprocessors, its alleged mis-treatment of workers, hung heav-ily in the air as the group made itsway through the factory. Workerswere stopped and questionedabout their jobs and their feel-ings about working for the plant.Mr.Aaron Rubashkin had made itclear to the group that they couldspeak to anyone they wanted.

All doors were opened to thevisitors, and some broke awayfrom the group to take their owntours.

One focus of the group’s inves-tigation was last week’s New YorkTimes article alleging that Somaliimmigrants were promised jobsat the factory only to be turnedaway. It seemed that there hadnever been such an offer. Themany “Now Hiring” signs around

the plant and around the countryattracted the workers, but onlythose who were clearly legal andcompetent were hired; those whohad issues with their documenta-tion were given bus fare back totheir place of origin. However,this had not stopped the Timesfrom running the story.

The workers’ sentimentsranged from satisfaction withtheir jobs to frustration at thefact that their situation was beingtaken advantage of by outsidegroups.

The group then went back tothe main office of Agriprocessorsfor a midday sit-down withPostville Mayor Bob Penrod.Along the way, the affordablehousing set up by the companywas pointed out.“For a three-bed-room apartment, we charge$375,” said Mr.Abrahams. He has-tened to add, “But they’re alltaken!”

He claimed that no resident isever evicted, irrespective of abili-ty to pay rent.

Mr. Abrahams insisted onshowing the group the $12-mil-lion environmentally friendlywastewater treatment facility,where all waste from the factoryis directed. There had been prob-lems with that previously, butenvironmental safety has becomea central focus at Agriprocessors.The group was shown “before-and-after” bottles of water thatclearly showed the improvementsthat had been made.

Meeting With Local and CompanyOfficials

The mayor emphasized thatthe Postville economy is primari-ly based on its association withAgriprocessors.

“There are some who wouldlike to take the town back to1955; that ain’t gonna happen,”declared Mr. Penrod. “The Jewishcommunity is extremely impor-tant to this town and we don’twant to see them leave.”

Aaron Rubashkin, who is in hiseighties, said, “I wouldn’t mind inthe least going back to 1955, butthat is not possible.” The doublemeaning of his words was not loston the group.

Gary Catterson, pastor of thePresbyterian Church of Postvilleand president of the town’s foodbank, described AaronRubashkin’s sense of responsibili-ty to the community.

“Just last week we called themup — we don’t have many peopleto call in case of emergency —and told them that 135 familieswere waiting and we were out offood,” said the pastor. “Within anhour, a truck pulled up and thefood pantry was replenished.”

Jim Martin, the newly hiredcompliance officer forAgriprocessors and a former U.S.attorney, told the visitors, “I wasthe United States attorneyresponsible for the entire St.Louis, Missouri, area — a prettybig responsibility. I was taken onboard in June [after the federalraid]; I can only speak [about]

Group of 25 on Fact-Finding Mission to Rubashkin’s

A member of the group talking toMr. Jim Martin, Compliance Officer.

Postville Mayor Bob Penrod

Mr. Aaron Rubashkin, founder ofAgriprocessors.

The steps of the wastewater treatment: from start to finish.

Members of the group discussing some of their findings.

* A kashrus stamp denoting kashrus of animals and appropriate treatment of workers.

5 AV 5768 Community AUGUST 6, 2008HAMODIA C7

that time frame.”He described the systems put

in place under his direction,including the posting of signsthroughout the factory in Englishand Spanish with a hotline num-ber encouraging workers toreport any mistreatment orunlawful activities. He said thatworkers had used the hotline sev-eral times, “and they see that wefollow up on it and we are seriousabout it.” The complaints weremainly about minor safety issues,he said.

Mr. Martin added that he hadbrought in consultants from acommunity of former InternalRevenue Service, OccupationalSafety and HealthAdministration, and UnitedStates Immigration and CustomsEnforcement agents to make surethe plant was fully compliant inall areas of the law.

Ryan Regenold of JacobsonStaffing, the firm in charge of hir-ing workers for the company —described by an Agriprocessorofficial as the “Cadillac in theindustry” — told the group of thee-Verify system set in place overthe past several months to ensurethat no illegal immigrants slipthrough.

“E-Verify is so respected bythe government that they usually

do not even double-check it,” saidMr. Regenold.

He said that he had immedi-ately boosted the starting pay forworkers to $10 an hour, above theindustry average and the mini-mum wage, when he first came tothe company earlier this year.

Hearing the Other SideRabbi Lerner and Rabbi David

Eliezrie, head of the RabbinicalCouncil of Orange County, alongwith two others, later met at aneutral site with with Paul Rael,director of the lay ministry at St.Bridget’s Church, and Esther

Lopez, a social worker associatedwith the church, both of whomwere severe critics of the compa-ny.

The two detailed their griev-ances against Agriprocessors,mostly over worker safety issues.

Rabbi Lerner noted that manyof the problems between the St.Bridget’s community andAgriprocessors were due to a lackof communication. Although thechurch representatives acknowl-edged that the Rubashkin familyhad made an overture to St.Bridget’s, to date no meetingshave taken place and there hasbeen no direct communicationbetween the parties.

“It became very evident thatthere needs to be a dialoguebetween the church andAgriprocessors so that the twosides can have an open and hon-est conversation about the issuesat hand,” said Rabbi Lerner.

It was suggested that the twogroups create a system wherethey meet once a week in order toestablish a relationship and aforum in which issues and con-cerns can be addressed in person,rather than through the media.Both sides pledged to considerthe proposal.

“We are hoping that we cancreate a bridge of understandingbetween the church representa-tives and the plant’s manage-ment,” said Rabbi Lerner, whonoted that this is the first timethere has been a real effort to getthe two groups together for thebetterment of the community,“Together they can address theissues affecting the workers andactively seek solutions.”

Drawing ConclusionsRabbi Sholey Klein, kashrus

administrator for Dallas Kosher,said, “With everything we hadread in the press, I wasn’t surewhat to expect. Would there beriots in the streets full of protest-ers?”

Hamodia asked Rabbi Kleinfor his view of the plant.

“The facility was clean andorganized. Break rooms werecomfortable and inviting,” hesaid. “The whole shechitahprocess was fast, efficient, andmore importantly, mehudar. Ihave seen other shlacht-houses,and this was a masterpiece. All inall, I was happy to come and seethe operation for myself. It wasinspiring to hear the mayor’s talkabout what Agri meant for himand for the town in general [and]how Agri supported all of theinstitutions in Postville, bothJewish and secular.”

This seemed to be the consen-sus of the group.

Menachem Lubinsky, market-ing agent for Agriprocessors, saidthat the visit convinced him ofthe scurrilous nature of therumors against the company,which he attributes to a lack ofcommunication.

“Most of it seems fit for ablood libel,” said Mr. Lubinsky,“although I am sure that therewere some aberrations that, withgood communication, could havebeen worked out.”

When asked if he is confidentthat Rubashkin’s new hires canprevent new allegations fromarising, he replied, “Absolutely.The company does not movebackwards. When it madeimprovements in the humanetreatment of livestock three yearsago, it stuck.”

Mr. Lubinsky lays blame forthe accusations squarely at thefeet of the unions, particularlythe Food and CommercialWorkers union, which is upsetthat Agriprocessors was not hir-ing unionized workers.

“There is a meticulous effortby the union to paint the plant asmedieval and now as a jungle, asthe Times characterized it [onSaturday]. It is a modern, state-of-the-art plant with happy workersand quality products, providingan important service to Jews allover America. Why the doubtswhen 25 witnesses have none?”

Rabbi Eliezrie said thatalthough he has no idea whathappened until now, he isimpressed by Agriprocessors’operations.

“We have no idea about thetruth of the past. Those makingthe allegations — the unions, theliberal Jewish groups — have anagenda. Still, we cannot prove itone way or another. However, it isclear that there is no truth tothose allegations at present.”

Rabbi Yaakov Wasser, first vicepresident of the RabbinicalCouncil of America, agreed.

“I feel they were presentedwith false documentation,” said

Rabbi Wasser. “I find the allega-tions of abuse unfounded basedon our tour... That having beensaid, I believe it will be nearlyimpossible to refute them.”

He felt that the changes madeto the company’s system werepermanent.

“I believe the new manage-ment hires we met were given asufficient mandate to make thesechanges,” he said. “In my conver-sations with Mr. Rubashkin, heexpressed a desire to make thempermanent.”

Rabbi Eliezrie was impressedby the plant’s kashrus standardsas well.

“There are many innovationsin kashrus that impressed theRabbanim who have had pastexperience in giving hashgachahto kosher meat production. Theplant is very impressive,” he said.

“Participants left with a betterunderstanding of what was goingon in Agriprocessors,” RabbiLerner said. “They saw a cleanfacility where the workers werehappy at their jobs.”

Rabbi David Eliezrie con-curred. “What I read in the news-papers and what I saw at theplant were two opposite reali-ties,” he said. “We were allowedto speak with anybody we wantedto.”

Two decades ago, theRubashkin family of Brooklyn,headed by its patriarch, Mr.Aaron Rubashkin, opened up akosher slaughterhouse in thecornfields of Iowa.

The bearded strangers fromBrooklyn quickly transformedPostville into its own small-townmelting pot. Immigrants fromGuatemala and Mexico beganarriving in great numbers towork at the slaughterhouse.Soon the town was home to shulsand, l’havdil, churches, and theshelves of the grocery storeswere stocked with tortillas andbagels.

The family’s Iowa business,Agriprocessors, the nation’slargest supplier of kosher meat,was raided by U.S. immigrationagents on May 12, 2008. Nearly400 workers, mostlyGuatemalans, were swept upand jailed, and they are likely tobe deported as illegal immi-grants.

Labor organizers and workershave also accused the companyof exploiting its employees, tol-erating abusive behavior on thepart of managers, and illegallyhiring teenagers to work on thefactory floor.

A few Conservative groupshave questioned whether theplant, given its problems, shouldbe allowed to keep its koshercertification.

A family that has neversought attention, theRubashkins now feel that theyare being attacked unfairly,especially by the media.

“The press? Terrible!” AaronRubashkin told a reporter withthe JTA in June. He said allega-tions that the company knowing-ly hired illegal immigrants andchildren and tolerated abusiveconditions were all lies.

“I wish everybody would betreated like we treat people,” he

said.Aaron Rubashkin and his

wife, Rivka, fled the SovietUnion after World War II andsettled in Brooklyn. In the 1950s,Aaron founded a prosperouskosher meat market in BoroPark.

Then, in 1987, theRubashkins made an incredibleleap. Looking for a way to bol-ster an unreliable supply ofkosher beef, the family boughtan abandoned nonkosher meat-packing plant in tiny Postville,Iowa.

Two of Aaron’s sons moved toPostville to oversee the plant,and a steady stream of familiesfollowed. Soon Postville, then atown of around 1,500 people,found itself drawing immigrantlaborers, too.

Suddenly, the town was filledwith Jews, Guatemalans,Mexicans, expatriates from for-mer Soviet Republics — andout-of-town reporters looking fora story about America’s diversi-ty. A documentary crew visited.National Geographic did a picto-rial. Journalism professorStephen Bloom wrote anextremely divisive book,Postville: A Clash of Cultures inHeartland America.

Amid all the publicity, thecompany was a huge success,producing popular brands suchas Aaron’s Best and Rubashkin’s.By 2006, Agriprocessors had asecond plant in Nebraska, run inpartnership with the OglalaSioux Tribe, that earned anannual revenue of $250 million.

“We are G-d-fearing people.We believe in the American sys-tem and we believe it will ulti-mately turn out okay,” GetzelRubashkin, a grandson of thefamily’s patriarch and anemployee at Agriprocessors, toldThe Associated Press in a recentinterview.

Checking the heat control.

Workers at the conveyor belt.

Preparing to process the animals.

Rabbi Pesach Lerner (center) questioning an Agriprocessors worker abouthis working conditions.

Rubashkins: An American Success Story