Workers at Kosher Plant Urged To Steer Clear of Union ‘Devils’

[Omaha Steve]

Full story: http://www.forward.com/article/workers-at-kosher-plant-urged-to-steer-clear-of-un/

Workers at Kosher Plant Urged To Steer Clear of Union ‘Devils’

Nathaniel Popper | Fri. August 18, 2006

Already facing scrutiny over its treatment of workers, the country’s largest kosher slaughterhouse is being accused of distributing a leaflet that warns its employees against the return of “union devils,” and of telling workers not to get “tricked into signing a card for the Union.”

The pamphlet, which came with a Spanish translation, was handed out in a meeting at the end of July, according to union organizers who have been in Postville, Iowa, the home of AgriProcessors, for the past month and a half.

The company did not respond to questions about the leaflet.

The alleged meeting took place a week before a task force from the Conservative synagogue movement traveled to Postville to investigate working conditions at the AgriProcessors plant.

My first ever link to the Jewish Daily.

[Hawkeye-X]

1. Eff them.

I'm Jewish and I avoid Rubaskin's like the plague. (They are the ones who owns AgriProcessors)

I know a local girl who married a Rubaskin.

Hawkeye-X

[Xeric]

3. bad apples

I'm Jewish too and I find this story sad. Jews in America have historically been pro-union. Of course there are individual exceptions. I'm told my grandfather, who ran a plumbing business in Brooklyn, chased the first union organizers out of the shop with a chunk of pipe. He eventually came around though.

[JohMunich99]

2. But they refer to a higher being?

Sorry, just parroting the Hebrew National commercial

[DainBramaged]

4. This company is NOT run by the Rabbis

http://www.goveg.com/feat/agriprocessors/

http://www.goveg.com/f-agri_violators.asp

USDA Report Finds That AgriProcessors Violated Humane, Kosher Laws


Of course they are anti-union.

[nealmhughes]

5. I hate to be steoreotypical here, but I naturally "assumed" that a kosher

meat plant would be a union shop!

I'll have to google this outfit and see if they make my beloved Hebrew Nationals or not, this goy boy can't live without 'em!

[Xeric]

6. Isn't it ironic

that since such a large percentage of the workforce in the meat industry is Hispanic now there's probably a guy named Jesus making your Hebrew National franks?

[Hawkeye-X]

11. They don't, thankfully.

However, they do produce Aaron's or Rubaskin meats.

Our local kosher deli recieved bad news recently about a very popular product from Canada (called Chai) has stopped distribution to the US. Pisses both my wife and myself greatly, since we get our Chai Chickens from there, so we're forced to go with a choice of Meal Mart or Aarons, and both of them suck.

Naturally, we're planning a trip to New York, so we're going to load up on more local chickens there and bring it back to Colorado, and hopefully pressure the damn kosher deli to hire a shochet (kosher butcher) and cut our meats locally.

Hawkeye-X

[Dr.Phool]

7. What brands do they sell?

Just so I know who to avoid.

[LeftyMom]

10. Rubashkins Glatt Kosher,Aaron's Best, David's Kosher and Iowa's Best Beef

Also sometimes sold as store brands.

[madrchsod]

8. you mean these guys?

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0506/feature7/index.html
Iowa Kosher @ National Geographic Magazine

there were problems in a meat packing plant in the early 70`s in ,i think,spencer iowa. a relative of mine worked at a plant was bought by conservative jews....boy oh boy that did not go over well out there on the prairie.

[LeftyMom]

9. Agriprocessors are horrific animal abusers too

And the slaughter footage I've seen from there definitely shouldn't be considered Kosher (blood everwhere, multiple cuts, cow upside-down.) Let me see if I can go get the video. Please, if you're going to buy meat, don't buy it from them. It was one of the most awful things I've ever seen people do to an animal.

Edit: this is a longer video, the first scene is what I was thinking of. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7960687976401601534&q=agriprocessors

[Hawkeye-X]

12. You have to understand our Jewish culture.

We do ritually slaughter our cows, but the PETA video is horrible, I agree, and probably not kosher either since the animal(s) are supposed to die an instant death, not an agonal death.

We've got a lot of stupid people that breaks the Jewish law.

Hawkeye-X

[LostinVA]

13. An excellent book about this business and area: "Postville"