Mr. Rosenthal Goes to Postville
Last week, I had the opportunity to tour the Agriprocessors Plant in Postville, Iowa as part of a commission appointed by the Rabbinic Assembly and the United Synagogues of Conservative Jews led by Rabbi Morris Allen. This visit was spurred on by an article in the Forward which severely criticized the plant for violations of worker health and safety, among other problems. This is the largest Kosher meatpacking plant in the United States.
We spent nearly two full days there, meeting with government officials, workers, lay and religious leaders in the community, union reps, and the owner and key staff from the plant itself. For the first time, I had the chance to tour a meatpacking plant. It is clear to me that it is impossible to make this work easy or neat. It is very hard work, the pay is low, the hours are long and there are dangerous tasks to be performed. It is amazing how hard the work is, and how dedicated the workers are. It is important to note that 80% or more of the workers are from Guatemala and Mexico, many of whom are undocumented and speak little English. Anyone who wondered whether these workers are trying to improve their lives so they can stay in the US should have the chance that I had to meet these workers and talk to them.
Most exciting about this visit, and the work of the commission of which I am a part, is the opportunity to work on an issue that is very important to the Jewish community - kosher meat; is strongly rooted in Jewish values, respecting the dignity and well-being of workers and the stranger; and building relationships with immigrant workers as part of JCA's work on immigrant rights.
I expect we will be going back soon and we are committed to working with the plant management, workers and people in town to meet the challenges of producing quality Kosher meat while improving the conditions for workers and protecting their rights. More will be reported as we visit again.
-Vic Rosenthal
We spent nearly two full days there, meeting with government officials, workers, lay and religious leaders in the community, union reps, and the owner and key staff from the plant itself. For the first time, I had the chance to tour a meatpacking plant. It is clear to me that it is impossible to make this work easy or neat. It is very hard work, the pay is low, the hours are long and there are dangerous tasks to be performed. It is amazing how hard the work is, and how dedicated the workers are. It is important to note that 80% or more of the workers are from Guatemala and Mexico, many of whom are undocumented and speak little English. Anyone who wondered whether these workers are trying to improve their lives so they can stay in the US should have the chance that I had to meet these workers and talk to them.
Most exciting about this visit, and the work of the commission of which I am a part, is the opportunity to work on an issue that is very important to the Jewish community - kosher meat; is strongly rooted in Jewish values, respecting the dignity and well-being of workers and the stranger; and building relationships with immigrant workers as part of JCA's work on immigrant rights.
I expect we will be going back soon and we are committed to working with the plant management, workers and people in town to meet the challenges of producing quality Kosher meat while improving the conditions for workers and protecting their rights. More will be reported as we visit again.
-Vic Rosenthal
posted by Jewish Community Action Staff at 9:22 AM
3 Comments:
Visit The Forward's website for a report on alleged "union busting" activities at the Postville AgriProcessors plant.
Beth Jacob congregants and other Jewish people around the country have been wondering: What do we do? How do we take action? What makes sense?
Here's a suggestion taken from the files of community organizers (and even a few politicians): Talk to people!
Ask them if they have followed the AgriProcessors controversy.
What do they think?
What do they believe Jewish values have to say about this?
Does it affect their understanding of what low-wage workers and new immigrants face in this great nation of ours?
Is this a Jewish problem, and if so, how do we deal with it within the context of our religion, our history, our values?
Bring it up after synagogue on Shabbat. Bring it up at Shabbat dinner. Heck--bring it up on the bus, at work, on the phone. Just share your values, get to know others as they share their values.
Talking to others is the first step in making change.
With all due respect to the JCA and immigrants' rights, but it begs the question why the JCA doesn't publicly question our nation's approx. 5 billion dollar annual aid to Israel. This money is being spent on cluster bombs in Lebanon (US made bombs) and furthermore, the money could well be spent domestically on the immigrants e.g. free health care and education. Why is the JCA so quiet about this aid to Israel?
Mike
This initiative seems to have faded into the horizon. Has anything come of this?
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