Over the last couple of decades the kosher consumer has probably become familiar with the Rubashkin label. It has fairly wide distribution and acceptance in this country. They have generally produced fine kosher meat products with trustworthy Hechsherim, certified Kosher by major certification agencies such as the OU and KAJ. They are also of course supervised by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Agriprocessors has become the largest producer and supplier of kosher meat products in the United States. It is more commonly known by its trade name Rubashkin, which is the family name of the owners. And it is a classic American success story. They have rejuvenated the dying economy of Postville Iowa, a small town in middle America. Rubashkin has also created many jobs for both the local non Jewish community and its own imported Jewish community.
But all is not so rosy as the above picture indicates. Agriprocessors has in the past been accused of mistreating its non Jewish workers. They vigorously denied it and claimed the complaints were made by a few disgruntled workers. But there was at least some evidence of unfair labor practices with non-Jewish workers.
This was the subject if a major news expose a few years ago. The controversy was also the source of the Conservative movement creating something called a Hekhsher Tzedek. The purpose was to eliminate the shabby treatment of its non Jewish workers. Products that were to display this Hekhsher insured that workers were indeed being treated fairly and not subjected to unfair labor practices.
I don’t know what ever became of this initiative. But it does serve to illustrate that in all likelihood, claims of innocence by Agriprocessors are not necessarily factual and that there was at least some validity to claims by various workers.
I have been informed by a source about a post that appeared in Yeshivaworld a few days ago. A new charge has been leveled against Agriprocessors by a group calling themselves the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union. I have no clue who they are or what their agenda is. Although it may very well be to unionize the workers at the plant. Unions generally tend to want all workers to be unionized. Be that as it may, here is what Yeshivaworld says:
Yeshivaworld has received dozens of emails in the last 12 hours telling us that they have received anonymous, automated phone calls telling them that Rubashkin Meat has Mad Cow Disease - amongst other things. Yeshivaworld has learned that these phone calls have been made to thousands & thousands of homes.
This was followed by a reader who took offense at the fact that an outside organization whose motives were not pure would use scare tactics as a means of putting pressure on Rubashkin for their own purposes.
This in turn generated a defensive response from Sholom Rubashkin, a vice president of the company that is both true... and misleading. He claimed they have never had a recall of their raw meat. True. But they did have a recall of some of their processed meat. One that the USDA termed a high health risk!
Now I seriously doubt that Rubashkin’s products have been tainted by Mad Cow desease, although it’s possible. But to defend oneself by misleading statements calls into question the integrity of their entire enterprise.
It is also unfair for Yeshivaworld to present a one sided view of this issue. They should have given the union an opportunity to present theirs.
Here is the way my source put it:
To imply that the USDA has never found reason for a recall is IMNSHO far below the level of honesty I would expect from a kosher food supplier.
I couldn’t agree more!
