MVP Mehadrin Kosher Poultry Closes Without Notice, Leaves Behind Large Bill With Township And Hundreds Of Suddenly Unemployed Workers

"Not a meeting to address the employees, thank you, nothing. They just, you know, leave. You're done. No [WARN] Act notice, which in [1988's WARN] Act states that we have to have 60 days notice.”

Originally published at 8:35 pm CDT 7-31-2012

MVP Mehadrin Kosher Poultry Closes Without Notice, Leaves Behind Large Bill With Township And Hundreds Of Suddenly Unemployed Workers
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

In late June, FailedMessiah.com reported that a source close to the situation told FailedMessiah.com that Empire Kosher Poultry was in the process of buying MVP Kosher Poultry, a kosher poultry slaughterhouse that produced the Mehadrin brand of kosher poultry.

I was told that Empire would shut down MVP’s sole plant in Pennsylvania and would produce the Mehadrin brand in Empire’s state-of-the-art facility. All the workers at MVP’s plant would be laid off, the source told me.

Empire refused to comment about that report.

Earlier this month MVP shuttered its plant. It left behind a $484,000 bill from Exeter Township for sewage treatment and 388 employees who were suddenly unemployed without warning.

"Not a meeting to address the employees, thank you, nothing. They just, you know, leave. You're done," Monica Williams told WFMZ TV News. "No Warren Act [sic] notice, which in 1989's Warren Act states that we have to have 60 days notice,” she said, referring to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act commonly known as WARN.

"They didn't tell us ahead. It was just a day before, and it's very hard for everybody to find a job right now," Mavella Villasnor told WFMZ.

Some of MVP’s former workers protested yesterday outside the shuttered plant. All told WFMZ that they did not know the plant was closing until they got what turned out to be their last paycheck.

"Like myself, many of these people, their whole families work here. For me, it's not just me, my husband was here, too. We're both wiped out," Williams said.

Companies sometimes purchase brand names without purchasing the manufacturing facilities, warehouses, equipment or debt of a company. This is what a Long Island businessman did in January 2011 when he purchased Mehadrin and its plant and Vineland Kosher Poultry's brand but not its plant.

The Vineland plant closed and its production moved to Mehadrin's plant, now owned by the newly formed MVP Kosher Poultry, Inc.

That businessman had no previous experience in the kosher meat business, which may account for what happened to MVP earlier this month.

It is unclear whether Empire purchased MVP's brands, or even if it purchased any part of MVP at all.

While acknowledging that MVP had indeed closed its plant and stopped production, a spokesperson for Empire Kosher Poultry did not confirm or deny the rumored purchase of MVP by Empire.

"The company does not comment on rumors,” he told FailedMessiah.com Tuesday evening.

[Hat Tip: Penina Scullion.]

Related Posts:

Empire Kosher Poultry To Buy MVP – Mehadrin Kosher?

MVP Salmonella Problem Resolved.

Long Island Businessman With No Kosher Meat Industry Experience Purchases Mehadrin And Buys Vineland's Brand.

[Hat Tip: Penina.]

Comments

[Expatriate Owl]

"Warren Act"? It should be "WARN Act" (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988).

[Rebitzman]

AND there s a "Faltering Company" exception to WARN.

Absolutely a shame. Market is getting narrower and narrower (and more and more expensive). May have to go back to killing my own.

[Lenny]

Tough economy!

[Shmarya]

Posted by: Expatriate Owl | July 31, 2012 at 09:12 PM

Thanks! I didn't even notice that!

[Jake]

Rebbitzman
So if MVP was a faltering company they would be exempt from WARN?

WARN on the national scene
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/inhofe-obama-administration-doesnt-want-all-these-pink-slips-going-out-5-days-election

[Rebitzman]

@Jake

The can claim Faltering Company or Unforseeable Circumstances..........

Yeah - pretty toothless

[......]

r u now also going to report every time a jewish company gets sold or goes bankrupt? besides for not giving its employees prior notice i dont see what so scandalous about this story, assuming they pay back their bill to the township. your going to need to hire some help if u plan on reporting on every failed jewish business adventure and try to spin it into some sort of scandal

[Lk]

Welcome to an economy lead by socialists.

[Jill]

The world is paying attention to California's cities as they start to topple like dominoes into bankruptcy. Many of them are reeling from a deflation in real estate values which saw their sources of revenue shrink.

...

Stockton, San Bernadino, Mammoth Lakes and Compton California, all have recently filed for bankruptcy protection. But experts believe they are just the tip of the iceberg as the recession still has a grip on the golden state.

http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/from-the-right/as-californias-cities-go-bankrupt-will-they-emerge-safer-164513236.html

Sigh! Time to make Aliya.

[Sol]

We should focus on encouraging young people to open factories, hire USA workers, and we should be less dependent on China.
We must explain to young potential entrepreneurs, that American workers will not hurt you, even when you have to let them go.

[Sol]

If you ever want that the Olympic costumes should be manufactured by USA workers, young start-out business people, must know that they will never be, frowned upon, when they have to let go their workers.

[Jill]

We should focus on encouraging young people to open factories, hire USA workers, and we should be less dependent on China.
We must explain to young potential entrepreneurs, that American workers will not hurt you, even when you have to let them go.

Posted by: Sol | August 01, 2012 at 08:34 AM

Then Mitt Romney is definitely not your man!

[Darth Zeidah]

We should focus on encouraging young people to open factories, hire USA workers, and we should be less dependent on China.
We must explain to young potential entrepreneurs, that American workers will not hurt you, even when you have to let them go.

Posted by: Sol | August 01, 2012 at 08:34 AM

Sure, sure - but what does this have to do with the supply of kosher chickens in New York?

[Jake]

Rebbitzman
On the other hand if your going bankrupt and you don't always know your going to make the sale u til they have signed on the dotted line........
You can't do the WARN thing until they sign and wouldn't make any sense to keep the facility open. Perhaps WARN must be modified to be 60 days notice or 30 days pay from whatever proceeds of sale exist.

[state of disgust]

Mehadrin bought the name "Vineland Kosher Poiultry" after that plant went under. Vineland used to produce excellent icq poultry before they went out of business. The story of Mehadrin's shuttered facility failure first appeared in trade publications about 10 days ago. It signify's a further shrinking of the Haredi approved (read Satmer in this case) poultry market. Its possible that Canadian producer Marvid will attempt to fill the void but there have been problems in the past getting approval for Marvid importation.
Stay tuned.

[PeninaD]

What ever happened to ethics? Where are the Yidden like the Feursteins (Malden Mills)???

[Yocheved Chana]

This is terrible news. Empire chicken tastes like salty cardboard! We always got Mehadrin out here, and while it wasn't the best I've ever had, at least the quality was consistent and edible. I can't afford the fancy organic free range stuff. :-(

[J]

MVP didn't declare bankruptcy. They were probably doing quite well. They just walked away. Especially since they weren't paying many creditors or their sewage bills, etc. They were committing all sorts of OSHA violations. They existed to pay themselves.