Twin Cities Jewish leaders see hope in new year for Iowa town
By JON TEVLIN, Star Tribune

January 2, 2009

Postville, Iowa, has seen more turbulence in the past eight months than most towns 10 times its size.

A May immigration raid shut down the kosher meat plant that was the town's main employer, driving hundreds of longtime residents back to their home countries while devastating the local economy. Agriprocessors Inc. is in bankruptcy and its CEO is being held without bail on child labor and fraud charges. Successive groups of laborers, ranging from homeless Texans to Somalis from the Twin Cities to islanders from Palau, near the Philippines, have come and gone, each group complaining of being deceived and exploited.

But Twin Cities Jewish leaders who have been active in helping the town get back on its feet say the new year brings new hope along with continuing problems for this small town just across the Minnesota border.

"The town is still reeling," said Vic Rosenthal, executive director of Jewish Community Action (JCA), based in St. Paul. Rosenthal visited Postville last week, and spoke with U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., about making sure the plant is not seized and shuttered for good.

"We've been in contact over those months, and the important thing is that we make sure what we do here is actually supporting [Postville]," Rosenthal said.

"Postville is definitely still in the midst of a humanitarian and economic crisis," said Maryn Olson, head of the Postville Central Coordinating Committee. While the food bank is full, money is still needed to help people with rent and other expenses, she said.

Firm wants to buy plant

An Israeli newspaper this week reported that a firm there, Zoglobek, was negotiating to buy the plant, which used to employ 1,200 but currently is down to about 200 workers. The receiver for the bankrupt company did not respond to questions about that report.

However, Rabbi Morris Allen of Beth Jacob Congregation in Mendota Heights, who has been leading a drive to convince producers of kosher meats to agree to a certification system that ensures fair treatment of employees, said Zoglobek contacted him.

"I believe they are in negotiations," said Allen. "A representative of that company has talked with us about what kind of criteria they would need to meet to get certified and whether there was an opportunity" to gain the town's and the religious community's confidence.

The May raid, in which federal agents rounded up almost 400 illegal workers, including many children, ended one problem. Some of the workers were charged with identity theft, others with illegally entering the country. Some fled or were deported.

But the raid also started a chain reaction of troubles. As the workers left, businesses suffered or closed. New workers brought in to replace them sometimes lugged considerable personal baggage, from criminal records to drug and alcohol problems.

Each wave of workers complained that they were lured to Iowa under false pretenses of free rent and higher wages, and left.

Meanwhile, the crisis has caused shortages of kosher meat across the country and prices have risen as much as 25 percent.

About 40 original workers, mostly from Mexico and Guatemala, remain in Postville, 28 of them wearing monitoring bracelets while awaiting deportation hearings. Since they can't work, they rely on the charity of local churches to survive.

Rosenthal said JCA has sent about $30,000 from donors to help religious leaders in Postville care for the unemployed and those trying to get back home.

A federal emergency grant of $698,000 has helped some pay rent and utilities, but it was not enough. As many as 150 people could be evicted from their apartments and homes beginning this week because they can no longer afford rent, said Jeff Abbas, who manages the local radio station.

"We don't know if they are unemployed or work for the plant," Abbas said. "We're trying to find someplace for them."

Asked what outsiders could do to help, Abbas said: "I hate to be crass, but if we could get some more money to just send people out of town, that would be good."

Rosenthal believes the plant is essential to the town's survival, but he said JCA's first focus is to help the women still being held in Postville to support their families.

"There is an opportunity now if a new owner comes along to do some things with this plant," he said. "New owners might be less biased against [operating transparently]."

Rabbi Allen has two hopes for the new year. "By the High Holidays 2009 [in autumn], I think our [certification] symbol will be on several food items.

"Secondly, I hope that this story, and the black eye it's caused, will be replaced by the hard work everyone has put in to ensure that ethics in the workplace is a foremost concern," he said.
Jon Tevlin • 612-673-1702

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