Tagged as AgriProcessors

>World Day Against Child Labour

Jun 12, 2008

>June 12th is World Day Against Child Labour. As hundreds of events take place around the globe, it is worth taking a moment to recognize that child labor is happening not only in countries far away, but right here in the U.S.

On May 12, 2008, an on-going investigation into child labor violations at the Agriprocessors processing plant in Postville, Iowa, was derailed by a conflicting raid conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Among those rounded up in the raid were numerous children, some as young as thirteen years old.

Mark Lauritsen, International Vice President of the UFCW, says Agriprocessors has gotten away with the labor violations for too long. He states: “There is not one other meatpacker operator in this country that has the same sustained long record of law violations as Agriprocessors, not one. They’re acting like a renegade in an already tough industry. It’s not good for the industry, it’s not good for the workers who work in it.”

Despite evidence of the use of child labor, Agriprocessors has yet to be held legally accountable for its actions.

While children across the country caught the bus for school and headed off for classes, the children at Agriprocessors went off to work in one of the most dangerous industries in the country.

Child labor anywhere is a disaster, but the discovery of child labor in an American packing plant is an outrage. To ignore the violations that happened there would not only be neglectful of our laws, but a disgrace to our core American values and what we stand for as a country.

The UFCW has never tolerated the use of child labor and never will. Together, we must expose the misdeeds of companies driven by corporate greed and help build stronger workplaces where respect for workers, and those children who will be the next generation of workers, is top priority. Learn More here.

Economic Justice, Packing and Processing, Press Releases, Social Justice, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values

AGRIPROCESSORS SLAMMED BY FEDERAL COURT FOR ILLEGALLY DENYING WORKERS A VOICE

Jan 10, 2008

(Brooklyn, NY) — Workers at the Agriprocessors distribution center in Brooklyn won a major victory when the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered the company to recognize their vote for a union voice at work.

The court ruled in favor of the workers’ right to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) by reaffirming the long-standing principle that all workers, undocumented or not, have the right to choose a union and bargain collectively. The company refused to bargain after an overwhelming majority of its distribution center workers voted to join the union in September 2005.

Agriprocessors argued that, despite having hired them, many of these employees were undocumented and therefore, according to Agriprocessors, they could not vote or belong to a union. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled against Agriprocessors, maintaining that every employee, regardless of his or her immigration status, have a collective bargaining vote. Nearly three years later, Agriprocessors lost its appeal in federal court.

Despite the positive ruling, this is just another example of our broken immigration system, specifically the abject failure of the employment verification process. Immigration law should complement, not undercut, the enforcement of labor and employment laws. Otherwise, the wages, benefits, working conditions, and labor rights of all workers will deteriorate.

“U.S. labor law protects all workers and the UFCW will not allow any company to operate outside of the law and take advantage of its employees,” said Mark Lauritsen, UFCW International Vice President and Director of the Food Processing, Packing and Manufacturing Division. “The Court of Appeals has sent a clear message to Agriprocessors and other employers who think they can skirt the law and deny workers a voice to make their workplace safer and their jobs better.”

Agriprocessors is one of the nation’s largest kosher meat producers. The company produces products under the following brand names: Aaron’s Best, Aaron’s Choice, European Glatt, Iowa Best Beef, Nevel, Shor Harbor , Rubashkin’s, Supreme Kosher, and David’s.

Corporate Responsibility, Economic Justice, Packing and Processing, Press Releases, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Workplace Safety & Health

LEADING KOSHER MEATPACKING PLANT DELAYS CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

Oct 17, 2007

Cedar Rapids, Iowa– The United States’ leading kosher meatpacking company will appear in federal court today challenging a class action lawsuit filed against the company on behalf of its workers.

The lawsuit alleges that Agriprocessors, a kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa,
has not compensated workers for the time they spend preparing for work at the beginning of the day and cleaning up at the end of it. Such compensation has recently been upheld by the Supreme Court. Agriprocessors is trying to limit worker participation in its attempt to avoid its obligations under Iowa state law which provides that all employees are automatically plaintiffs in the lawsuit unless they sign a form indicating otherwise. Agriprocessors is arguing that only federal law applies, which requires employees to sign a form requesting participation in the class action suit.

Working conditions and food safety at the AgriProcessors slaughterhouse have been under scrutiny in the past year. In May of this year, over 200 workers stood up for their rights and walked out of the plant in protest of the company’s misconduct.

Agriprocessors, one of the nation’s largest kosher meat producers, runs a beef, lamb and poultry processing plant in Postville, Iowa. Agriprocessors produces products under the following brand names: Aaron’s Best, Aaron’s Choice, European Glatt, Iowa Best Beef, Nevel, Shor Harbor , Rubashkin’s, Supreme Kosher, and David’s.

“Essentially the company is trying to undercut the voices of hundreds of workers by delaying the lawsuit and trying to limit their right to recover unpaid wages through overwhelming them with more paperwork and red tape,” says Attorney Brian McCafferty. McCafferty will be representing the workers today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa federal court.

For more information go to www.eyeonagriprocessors.com.

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