BREAKING! Utility Delays Cutoffs For Some Agriprocessors Workers – Local Activists Save The Day

And yet another Palauan worker claims Agriprocessors' recruiters lied about housing, airfare and pay, as…

…the Des Moines Register reports:

Utility delays power cutoffs to former Agriprocessors workers
BY TONY LEYS

Alliant Energy has agreed to delay cutting off power to former Agriprocessors workers, who feared they would lose heat in their Postville homes.

Many of the workers are in financial straits because they lost jobs at the meatpacking plant. The company declared bankruptcy last week, and it is struggling to maintain production. Its owner and several managers face criminal charges and fines in the wake of a large immigration raid there last May.

Many recent workers were newcomers, including scores from the island nation of Palau. Dozens have left town, but some who remain were worried that they would lose their power, said Jeff Abbas, a local radio station manager who has been trying to unknot the situation.

A few who lived in a building served by the local electric cooperative lost power, Abbas said. Volunteers helped them find warm places to stay.

Alliant Energy provides power and gas to most of Postville. Company spokesman Ryan Stensland said state regulators asked the company not to cut any Postville customers off for at least a week. The company granted the request.

"We're trying not to pile on," Stensland said. "We understand that people are out of work up there." He said 330 Postville customers were behind in paying their power bills.

Larry Reed, general manager of the Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative, said his company shut off power last week to a few apartments in a building owned by local landlord Gabay Menahem. He said no other cutoffs were planned.

Menahem, whose GAL Investments owns many of the workers' houses, said he was trying to help them keep utility service. He said the tenants' leases say utilities are their responsibility.

Menahem said some of the bills are in his company's name but were supposed to be switched to the tenants' names. If tenants make the switch, he said, they should be all right, because state law says utilities can't be shut off to individuals after Nov. 1 in any year.

Joanne Obak, one of the Palauans, said the utilities mess is just the latest of the troubles her countrymen have faced in Postville. She said recruiters made false promises about coverage of housing, airfare and other costs. She said almost 200 Palauans were in town a few weeks ago; about 25 are left. The rest returned to Palau or sought jobs in Minnesota or Nebraska.

Obak said she and about 13 others were considering jobs at a Kansas packing plant. "We need to stick together," she said. "That's all we can do for each other now."

The reality is that Jeff Abbas and his volunteer crew did all of this. It was Jeff's phone calls that caused regulators to call Alliant and ask for the cut off stay.

And it was Jeff and his crew that found warm housing (outside of Postville, by the way) for the workers and transported them to and from that housing.

As for the November 1 cold weather no-disconnect rule, as I reported Monday, that rule is only in force after paperwork is filled out by each household seeking protection.

That was done yesterday after Abbas and his crew got Iowa LIHEAP to come to Postville earlier than scheduled. Abbas went door to door, including Jewish homes, to get needy people to come and sign up. (Many of the workers are totally unfamiliar with winter let alone with things like LIHEAP, and some are illiterate. Most had no idea where to turn for help.)

The City of Postville shut off water to at least 50 occupied homes yesterday and more disconnects are scheduled for today.

Where is the mayor and the Postville city government in all this?

AWOL and derelict. The city government – especially the mayor, Robert Pennrod – make New Orleans' city government during Hurricane Katrina look good by comparison.

More on that in my next post.

Left Out In The Cold Parts 1, 2, 3, 4.

Comments

[Gunder]

Where is the CEO at Agri, The Rubashkins and other management at Agri at in all this?

[state of disgust]

The CEO of Agri is nice and toasty warm in New York.

[state of disgust]

1) What is the history of water shut-offs in Postville?
2) Is it the norm to shut-off water with 3 hrs notice?
3) How much notice is required by law before the water can be shut off?
4) Is there some discrimination against "newcomers" at work here?

Seems to me Penrod may have opened the town up to a helluva law suit. Someone should call Nate Lewin!

[Shmarya]

Where is the CEO at Agri, The Rubashkins and other management at Agri at in all this?

Maybe the mayor and the city government should wait for them to act. After all, since everything is Agri's fault, anyone who dies or is injured is on their heads. Is that what you mean?

[Curious Postville Native]

[Someone should call Nate Lewin!]
--No thank you.

For the record, my involvement is strictly humanitarian. It is my belief, a temporary homeless shelter would have been a better answer. If the water is turned back on at these residences, the City of Postville will once again be forced to pay. We can't take much more. I feel any expenses incurred by the city, on humanitarian grounds, should be the first paid back when his houses are sold.

[State of Postville III]

Please-the city is not the evil here. They have been given bad checks for thousands of dollars. And discrimination is just a laugh as the natives have talked about reverse discrimination for 20 years. The discrimination is the lack of respect and now people are having problems. Yes, it is not the fault of the city it is the fault of criminal activity. You are definitely getting confused about the city's position. Thousands of city dollars have been spent for this plant. We may be on the verge of bankruptcy too just because of being "too supportive." It is a shame that people are having a tough time. Look around lots of people are having tough times in lots of places. As has been stated before this is a man made problem instigated by criminal behaviors and greed. Sort it out. Do we all have to go down?????

[Jeff Abbas]

"1) What is the history of water shut-offs in Postville?"

It has always been deemed as a last resort and they always try to work with people. It is always a last resort.

"2) Is it the norm to shut-off water with 3 hrs notice?"

No it never has been 3 hours. It has always been 24 hours. Whoever suggested there were 3-hour notices being hung is wrong...period.

"3) How much notice is required by law before the water can be shut off?"

By city ordinance, it is 24 hours. The state abides by the city ordinance.

"4) Is there some discrimination against "newcomers" at work here?"

Absolutely not and it is ludicrous to suggest that.

[Curious Postville Native]

P.S. It is my profound hope that our city leaders have learned from this tragedy. We must NEVER allow businesses, who have no desire to work with this community, a moment of our time. Our priorities must lie with this community. We will never be able to afford another mistake.

[Shmarya]

Please-the city is not the evil here. They have been given bad checks for thousands of dollars. And discrimination is just a laugh as the natives have talked about reverse discrimination for 20 years. The discrimination is the lack of respect and now people are having problems. Yes, it is not the fault of the city it is the fault of criminal activity. You are definitely getting confused about the city's position. Thousands of city dollars have been spent for this plant. We may be on the verge of bankruptcy too just because of being "too supportive." It is a shame that people are having a tough time. Look around lots of people are having tough times in lots of places. As has been stated before this is a man made problem instigated by criminal behaviors and greed. Sort it out. Do we all have to go down?????

Sigh.

You confuse what the city government did for AGRIPROCESSORS (and GAL) with what the city government is NOT doing for the displaced workers.

Any water used over the next week or so will cost the city almost nothing compared to what it already has lost.

Past that, there are mechanisms in place to help cities deal with economic disasters.

The problem is, Postville's government did not take advantage of those mechanisms.

No sane person thinks the city caused this disaster.

But it is the city' governments legal, moral and ethical responsibility to help those in immediate danger caused by it.

Is this really so difficult for you to grasp?

[Archie Bunker]

I never thought I'd see Shmarya criticize someone like Ray Nagin.

[MSE]

The city government has to bear some responsibility here. Too many people that have been on the council, city and state governments (including a soon to be former state senator from Postville) have spent too much time the past few years making excuses for Agri and buying their "look at what we've done for the city" line. The entire city, government and citizens, have failed by allowing things to get to this point. This mess is a testament to what happens to a city when everyone puts their head in the sand and pretends that its problems will go away on their own.

[Toast]

I hear a lot about \"Bad Checks\" recently, by Agri.

Why can\'t all of the current and past management be arrested, right now, for that alone?

Moshe Rubashkin was convicted of check fraud and sentenced to 15 months in Fort Dix, for having his Textile company being broke and yet Moshe wrote bad checks anyway.

Law enforcement are breaking their head trying to make sure they charge the Rubashkins and make the case stick to win their case in court and \"prove their case\" before arresting the Rubashkins on all their real crimes (what they have charged them with so far, is only the tip of the iceberg and they are still scratching their heads on the rest)?

Here, they have an open and shut case of bad checks, they can arrest all the Rubashkins right now and throw away the key in a very easy to prove case and with no defense at all for the entire Rubashkin crime family.

[sage]

Excellent idea, Toast.

This will get them used to conditions of incarceration and properly prime them for future time in the "Big House".

[mrs. out of the loop]

jeff, seems like you are quite involved in all this. Are your pockets getting full? Don't hear anyone else having time to "get involved" this much.

[Jeff Abbas]

Mrs. Out of the Loop -

You may examine my pockets anytime you like.

It's not a matter of "having time" when you follow your heart.