Not A “Jungle” But An Oasis

By Dr. Carlos Carbonera

During our four-hour drive to Postville, Rabbi Zeilingold debated what kind of situations we would find there. Based on the Forward’s report, we wondered if would we see a third world environment here in the midst of the heartland of America?

Upon our arrival in Postville, we met with Mr. Ron Wahls, a guidance counselor for the Postville School District. In his role at the school district, Mr. Wahls often helps immigrant families get established in Postville. He helps them get acquainted with the public school system, connects them with medical services, makes sure their children have the proper vaccinations before entering school, and often helps resolve other family-related issues.

Mr. Wahls also owns several apartment buildings occupied by the families of immigrant workers and he took us on a tour of the many different housing options available to Hispanic workers. Postville’s population is booming; in the 2000 census, it was the fastest growing city in Iowa and it is currently facing a housing shortage. Mr. Wahls showed us a wide range of accommodations. On one end of the spectrum, we saw at least ten brand new homes—each with more than 2,000 square feet of space—that had built by Central American immigrants. On the other end of the spectrum, we saw a trailer park that was owned by one of the members of Postville City Council and served as temporary housing for newcomers. Agriprocessors does not own any of the housing used by its employees.

An Agriprocessors employee, who I will call "Maria" told me she rented an apartment that she shared with a relative. Maria is a single mother and has two children, both of whom attend the Postville public school. When I asked why she chose to live with a relative, she told me she was saving for a house.

Another person we interviewed, who I will call Juan, came to Postville alone seven years ago and, at first, lived with friends in a trailer. After a few years Juan had saved enough money to get a bank loan and build a new home. Now his family has joined him in Postville.

When we asked Agriprocessors employees about their health care options, each person told us they have two choices: they can spend fifty dollars a week on medical insurance, or use Postville’s free public health clinic. The people we interviewed informed us that most workers chose to save the money and use the public system. All believed they were well cared for and felt they had been treated with respect.

“Miguel” told us after being treated at the public clinic he was interviewed by a representative of a human rights group, who gave him a card and told him to call if he ever he had any problems or saw any irregularities. I asked Miguel if he had ever called the number on the card. His answer was "No."

While he was happy with his health care, Miguel was not happy with his wage of $8.50 an hour, even though it was far higher than the wages described in the Forward. Agriprocessors is the third slaughterhouse at which Miguel has worked—one had paid more, but closed and at the other the work was irregular. Miguel said that while his current wage is below what he wants, he has built a brand new split-level home and has decided to settle permanently in Postville.

"I like Postville,” Miguel said. “I like the school for my children, like my house, and have a steady income. I can't leave.”

All of the people we interviewed told us that they liked their employers. The consensus was that Agriprocessors provides a steady income and is, overall, fair to their employees. They cited problems that employees were having with two supervisors, who they called Mayordomos; these supervisors would scream at the employees and would use language that the employees found offensive. When this behavior was brought to the attention of the Rubashkins, those two Mayordomos were fired.

The Forward alleged that Agriprocessors employees felt they were trapped in their jobs, so we asked the people we interviewed if they felt they could get work elsewhere. They each replied, "Why should we?" They are paid well for Northeast Iowa, their children attend good schools and they are able to save to own their own homes.

Everyone we interviewed agreed the workload was hard. With production at the plant increasing, Agriprocessors has been employing more and more workers and is often short-handed. This does, however, create opportunities for overtime that many employees use to earn additional income.

What I saw in Postville bore no relation to the nightmare described in the Forward. What I saw were people working to improve the living conditions of their families and take advantage of the opportunities that come from hard work. Most important, I felt gratified to know that for Agriprocessors, producing kosher meat goes hand-in-hand with following the Torah’s principles that employees are treated justly.