After the jump, you’ll find a letter from Rabbi Asher Zeilingold that’s circulating and — I’m told, but don’t know — could become the substance of a report in a publication like the Jewish Press. It responds to the Forward’s story on the treatment of workers at Rubashkin’s Iowa plant that I said “paints a stark picture of salaries and safety standards in the Agriprocessors plant as significantly below general industry standards.”
Zeilingold’s letter doesn’t do much to contradict that picture. What Zeilingold does is show that the employees he spoke to are happy with their conditions. What it does not do is show those conditions to be different in any significant respect than that portrayed by the Forward’s Nathaniel Popper: there is no contradiction of the claims that wages are significantly below those at similar plants like Empire’s, or that safety standards are significantly lower that found in Iowa generally. It doesn’t matter if the workers Zelingold spoke to are happy with their wages and the conditions; what matters is that from the point of objective comparison, those wages and safety standards are below industry standards.
This isn’t to say that Zeilingold’s criticisms are entirely out of place: Popper’s piece clearly went over the top at several points, the most significant of which serves as a major element of Zeilingold’s letter. When Popper wrote, “No less significant, Postville has no public transportation into or out of town, and few immigrant workers can secure driver’s licenses to escape the isolated community,” he was making a point buried in the article but that was an essential statement toward delivering the overall impression that Agriprocessors employees are somehow trapped or imprisoned. This was a careless argument for Popper to make, and this and others left him open to Zeilingold’s criticisms. That’s his fault.
But it doesn’t at all undermine Popper’s key conclusions of differentiated salary and safety standards.
Popper isn’t and wasn’t helped by the ridiculous editorial that accompanied it. This is no surprise: the real reporting in the newspaper is often hurt by the lack of credibility conveyed in its editorials. This editorial happens to have been particularly harmful, and besides being idiotic and hypocritical (which I may address in a later post) gave particular ammunition to criticisms such as Zeilingold’s.
But that, too, does nothing to undermine Popper’s key conclusions.
UPDATE: The Jewish Press runs an editorial based on Zeilingold’s letter that, rather predictably, fails to absorb the actual relevance of Zeilingold’s findings. It hilariously begins by discussing Agriprocessors’ “abuse at the hands of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)” without even bothering to note the USDA’s findings, so you know how credible it’ll be from the start.

The Forward story also represents that AgriProcessors pays most of its employees about $6.00 per hour. However, the 20 workers Rabbi Zeilingold met earned between $8.50 and $9.50 per hour.

This is a flat-out lie. What the Forward story actually says is that employees start at roughly $6.00 per hour and “Empire pays its lowest-ranking unionized employees close to $3 more an hour from the outset than AgriProcessors’ lowest employees, and provides full benefits.” And what Zeilingold’s letter actually says is that employees who’d been there for several years had salaries in that range of $8.50 to $9.50.

Further, contrary to the assertion in the Forward story, there is a free clinic available to the workers for routine medical services. The employees are also given the opportunity to purchase medical insurance for more serious medical needs. The interviewed employees also said they had been given substantial safety training.

There’s no indication in Zeilingold’s letter that this free clinic is offered by Agriprocessors. If it is, that’s a glaring omission by Popper, but I doubt that’s so.
The health insurance issue is more sticky: Popper reports it at a cost of $50 per week “for family coverage.” Zeilingold’s letter says that it’s $50 per month, presumably for individuals. If the company is offering full health coverage at the level reported by Zeilingold, it could be said that the lack of automatic benefits that’d come with union dues is counterbalanced by this cheap health coverage option. Popper needs to clarify this and indicate where it’s out of balance with industry standards. But either way, that still wouldn’t say anything about the key finding of differentiated salaries and especially the safety standards claim that the Jewish Press repeats despite its meaninglessness (which is discussed above).

AgriProcessors’ employees voted not to be unionized, and it is not surprising that the union organizer, who is quoted in the Forward piece so negatively towards AgriProcessors, is bitter over the union’s loss at the polls.

Yes, but that doesn’t do anything to Popper’s key findings.

Rabbi Zeilingold and his Spanish-speaking congregant, Dr. Carlos Carbonera, returned from their first-hand inspection of the AgriProcessors plant and its treatment of Hispanic employees with the firm conviction that the employees are treated well and respectfully and that the Forward reporter – who does not even indicate whether he speaks Spanish and whether he had a Spanish interpreter with him – provided the Forward’s readers with an incendiary and totally false picture of conditions in Postville.

Popper doesn’t say that the employees he spoke to didn’t speak English, so there’s no reason to assume they didn’t. However, if they didn’t speak English, and he doesn’t speak Spanish (I don’t know if that’s the case or not), the Jewish Press does have a point in raising the question of who his potential interpreter would have been. If he’d need an interpreter, and the one he used had the potential of a conflict of interest, that’s highly problematic insofar as it leads to key factual conclusions.
But it doesn’t appear that the key facts — differentiated salaries and safety standards — are being disputed, either by Zeilingold’s letter or by the Jewish Press’s smoke-and-mirrors editorial.

Report on a Visit to Agriprocessors, Postville, Iowa
May 28, 2006
by Rabbi Asher Zeilingold,
Rabbi of Adath Israel Congregation, St. Paul, Minnesota (since April 1966)
On Friday, May 26, the Forward newspaper published a lengthy article by Nathaniel Popper entitled, “In Iowa Meat Plant, Kosher ‘Jungle’ Breeds Fear, Injury, Short Pay.â€? The article purported to document the mistreatment of Hispanic workers at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, owned by members of the Rubashkin family. Its allegations were harsh, severe, and extraordinarily derogatory.
I provide a hashgacha for some Agriprocessors products. I was deeply disturbed by the implications, and discussed the matter with a colleague in the Conservative movement. We were in agreement that our first concern was that some Jews might use the charges raised in the article as reasons not to keep kosher. People might say that if this management does not treat its workers fairly and with respect, we should not eat their kosher products.
Over the next day, Shabbos, I thought long and hard about what I could do to address this problem. I made the assumption that there was at least some truth to the charges made in the article, and wanted to ascertain the extent. At the same time, I felt that any truths in the charges needed to be put into perspective: I make several trips a year to visit food plants in Mexico to check for kashrut. I fly into El Paso, Texas, and then drive a few short miles over a bridge into Mexico. I am very familiar with the squalor and misery in which a sizable portion of the Mexican working class lives. I decided that I wanted to visit the Agriprocessors plant together with someone who speaks fluent Spanish and would be able to win the confidence and trust of the workers.
After Shabbos, I called Dr. Carlos Carbonera, who was born in the Caribbean and has a good understanding of Hispanic culture. Dr. Carbonera holds a doctorate in mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley, and has a prestigious position in his field in this area.
When I spoke with Dr. Carbonera, I told him about the article. I indicated that I wanted to investigate, and I told him very clearly that I absolutely did not want him to accompany me simply as my assistant. I made it clear to him that I would not put any words into his mouth, nor any thoughts into his head, and I would not ask him to say or to write anything that he felt was less than the absolute truth.
I then contacted Agriprocessors’ CEO, Sholom Rubashkin, to ask his permission to visit the plant. I reached him in New York where he was visiting with his family over the holiday weekend. I asked his permission to visit the plant the next day, Sunday, May 28 with Dr. Carbonera, and to speak freely with the workers. He agreed and told me that we could meet with whomever we wanted in the plant and ask them anything we wanted.
Before we left, I also made inquiry as to those Postville residents, not on Agriprocessors’ payroll, whose input would be reliable and factual. It was suggested that we meet with Mr. Ron Wahls, a guidance counselor and teacher at the local elementary school, who also owns apartment houses in which the workers live. We decided that we would not meet with or interview any Agri officials. We would only ask Agri for information and/or company records as needed.
We did go to Postville, and when we left Postville, I was in absolute shock. I saw clearly and without question that the Forward’s claims and allegations were completely unfounded, without any basis in truth. In fact, I found that here was a food plant in small-town America that had workers who were satisfied, and felt their lives had meaning and fulfillment. Most recognized the Rubashkin family and the Agriprocessors establishment as their benefactors.
Mr. Wahls began by telling us about the elementary school system in Postville, and of the success he has had with the children of the workers. Before I sat down with Mr. Wahls, I did not realize that there were families with children in the Agri “equation�. I had considered only the workers at the slaughterhouse. Mr. Wahls told us of the care and consideration that the school has for these newly arrived immigrant children. Mr. Wahls further pointed out that many of the workers with children in the school have come from large cities in Tennessee, Michigan, Georgia and other states and have chosen to leave their former workplaces and come to work for Agri in Postville, Iowa.
There had been a non-kosher turkey processing plant in Postville which had burned to the ground. The workers at that plant were given the option to move on to other food processing plants in other states. It was assumed that the school would lose 90 children. Most of the displaced workers elected, however, to remain in Postville and apply for work at Agri. These workers were living in Postville before applying to Agri; it was their personal decision to stay in Postville and work at Agri.
The Forward article suggests pressure and exploitation, i.e., that workers are forced to live in Postville and work for Agri. “ There are many workers who, over the past years, have decided that they can do better for themselves by working at another job in another city. They said goodbye to Agri and moved on.
When we sat down to interview the workers, we asked each one for his or her name, They all gave us their names willingly, but in this article I have chosen to maintain confidentiality by using fictitious names.
Juan comes from Guatemala, and previously worked in Texas for a plumber. He spoke to Dr. Carbonera in Spanish, but said to me clearly in his broken English that “this is best place�. His shift, #4, starts at 7:00 a.m. and he leaves at 5:30 p.m. He told us that he feels no pressure to work harder or longer, and there is no unreasonable demand on his work. He told us that there were two supervisors who were dictatorial. Management fired them and there has not been a problem since then.
Juan volunteered that the Rubashkins are wonderful people to work for. They are caring and have shown concern for him and for his family. His wife and three sons have lived in Postville for one year. His sons are workers in the plant. He rents the lower level of a two-story house and he said that his family has adjusted well to their new environment.
Dr. Carbonera asked Juan:
Question: Today, as we speak, what is your main concern working at Agri in Postville?
Answer: My main concern is that troublemakers will force the plant to close and then I will have to leave a town and company that I and my family have grown to love.
Question: Can you please tell us, from your knowledge, and your relationship with the Hispanic working community, are they happy here at Agri?
Answer: 99% are very happy.
Pedro comes from Mexico and now works in shipping. He has worked at Agri for seven years. Dr. Carbonera asked him if he feels that he has made progress on the pay scale. He gave us his work history.
Pedro started at the minimum wage working in the freezer. He put in applications for different jobs, and over the years, has been promoted. He now works as a supervisor or mayordomo as his fellow Hispanic workers call him. He very emphatically stated there is “no such thing as people being mistreated in this plant.� When Dr. Carbonera translated these words for me, Pedro was listening very carefully to each word to make sure that his words were being translated correctly.
We pressed Pedro to tell us any negative aspects of his working conditions. He told us that sometimes he feels there is not enough working space and what Agri needs is more expansion.
We asked him to give us his opinion on wages at Agriprocessors. His response: “Those who deserve to be paid better are paid better.� I asked Dr. Carbonera to ask Pedro, “If someone came to him today and offered him a job in another city, would he consider accepting it?� His response: “I have a good job. My children go to a good school. I do not want to move.�
Luis also comes from Mexico and has worked at Agri for the past five years. In 1989, he worked at a California slaughterhouse. In 1994, he worked at another Iowa slaughterhouse, which closed down, and then came to Agri. As of today, Luis earns $8.50 an hour. He says that overall, Agri has been very fair to him. He has purchased his own home, and has brought his family here from Mexico. He told us clearly that he has never been told that he must work extra hours. He said, “If I did not like it here, I would have left. My son did work here and he decided to leave and has found for himself a different job.�
We asked Luis if he feels that the company did a good job in training him for safety and security. His answer was an emphatic “yes�. He said that he had all the training that he feels he needs and meetings are set up where safety issues are discussed. Luis said that he believes that all accidents are the fault of the employee who is not following regulations.
Luis told us that he was injured in a plant accident and was taken to a Spanish-speaking doctor. Afterwards, he was interviewed by a representative from a human rights group, who asked him whether he had been treated well. When Luis answered affirmatively, the human rights group representative gave him his business card and told him to call him if he ever had a problem with which he could help him. This happened several years ago, and Luis has never used the card.
We interviewed some twenty workers, divided evenly between men and women, whose approximate ages ranged from twenty to fifty. Everyone with whom we spoke said he or she was satisfied with his or her working conditions. All agreed that they were treated with respect and were given opportunities to climb the ladder of success. No one was forced to work specific shifts, and no one was ever asked or ever considered paying a “bribe� to be able to work certain shifts.
We wanted to find out if they were ever “shortchanged� on paychecks, as the Forward had alleged. When we asked whether, when receiving their paychecks, they checked to make certain that they were receiving the full amount to which they were entitled. They told us that they did always receive the correct amount, and none was aware of anyone who had not received the full amount that he or she was due.
We asked about the conditions of the plant bathrooms and cafeteria. They did not have any complaints about these conditions, and in their opinion, the facilities were clean and sanitary.
We asked them about health care. They told us that if they are ill, they can go to the free clinic where they are treated well. They also have the option to purchase company-sponsored health insurance at $50 per month. They have no complaints whatsoever about their health care and they thought the options they have are fair. They all felt they are treated fairly by management in this regard.
They live either in houses or apartments or trailers. Some of them have built their own homes and a growing number are building and/or buying their own home. There are now approximately 800 Hispanic workers at Agri, which means approximately 2500 people when you include wives and children. Hispanic families share homes because they want to have money to send to their families in Guatemala and Mexico who are living on wages that add up to pennies a day. They also want to save money to be able to purchase their own homes. The trailer and trailer park in which some of the workers live is owned personally by a city councilman and has nothing whatsoever to do with Agriprocessors or the Rubashkin family.
When we asked whether the workers would recommend to their friends “back home� that they should come and live in Postville and work for Agri, they replied that they had recommended to friends that they come here and some had come to Postville and are now working for Agriprocessors. We asked everyone very clearly: Could you leave here if you wanted to, and if you would choose to go, are there other work places you can go to? The answer was a unanimous yes. Everyone has a choice, and they told us that the best proof is that over the years, many have left and have found other places to work.
Mr. Ronald Wahls took us on a tour of the town. He knows who lives in just about every house in town. We saw beautiful homes built or bought by the Hispanic workers. The apartments are new, large, clean, and all wired for satellite television. The apartment complex has a large soccer field. The trailers are not more than temporary units, and serve a temporary purpose.
The Forward newspaper characterizes Agriprocessors as a ‘Jungle’ which breeds fear, injury and short pay. Dr. Carbonera and I have made an in-depth study and have conducted in-depth interviews. We say that Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa is a good place to work in a beautiful little town, one offering opportunity, happiness, and fulfillment.

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