The Rubashkin family's questionable business practices continue. Below you'll find a decision against Agri Processor of Brooklyn, which appears to be a Rubashkin-controlled company. Rubashkin – who not only hires illegal aliens but actively recruits them, as documented by Stephen Bloom in his book on Postville – tried to get around Federal law requiring companies to bargain in good faith with unions. How did Rubashkin do this? He claimed to have checked employees Social Security numbers and found those numbers did not match those in the Social Security data base – in other words, the numbers were false and the employees were, therefore, undocumented workers. Since, Rubashkin's logic went, the workers were illegals, they therefore did not have the same rights as legal workers – hence Rubashkin did not need to bargain with the union.
The NLRB rejected Rubashkin's claims.
This took place last year about this time. This year, as the union (UFCW) is organizing at Postville, Rubashkin showed workers at his Postville plant a letter from Social Security saying employees' numbers did not match any in the system. This can be viewed as threat – unionize, and we'll call the Immigration and Naturalization Service and deport the lot of you.
The workers promptly walked out. Rubashkin closed the gates, trapping the workers inside the facility grounds. Eventually, using an interpreter, Rubashkin assured workers they had nothing to fear. Then he denied the walkout happened when asked by local media.
Understand this well. Rubashkin employs and recruits undocumented workers. He does this knowingly. He uses the workers' legal status against them to pay lower wages and to keep out unions.
Your rabbis have their seal of approval on this behavior. The OU, Crown Heights Bet Din, Rabbi Weismandl's Supreme Kosher, the KAJ, United Mehadrin Kosher, and many others sign on to this abuse. And, needless to say, the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) and the haredim (Agudath Israel, etc.) are silent on the abuse and vocal about supporting Rubashkin and "schechita" from "attack."
I've said it before and I'll say it again – the only thing short of jail time these people understand is money. Cut off their revenue stream in any way way you legally can. It's the only way to bring change to a horribly abusive system.
Download rubashkin_nlrb_may_2006.pdf