We've already seen the housing new Agriprocessors workers are dumped in. Holes in ceilings, leaking pipes, rotting floors, a laundry closet converted to a bedroom, and astronomical rents.
But what kind of houses do the Rubashkins live in? Let's take a look…
Please click images to enlarge.
Rabbi Sholom M. Rubashkin and his wife Leah live in this 8300 square foot palace, one of the largest (if not the largest) homes in Postville. It has 20 rooms, 9 of them bedrooms:
Sholom's little brother Heshy lives in this nice piece of real estate pictured below. Smaller than Sholom's, it has only 3750 finished square feet. That's 11 rooms total, 4 of them bedrooms:
Sholom and Heshy's sister Chaya is married to Rabbi Yosef Gourarie. Gourarie works for Agriprocessors. As you can see below, the Gourarie home is stately. It has 5800 finished square feet. That's 16 rooms, 6 of them bedrooms:
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What follows are some pictures I previous posted from inside one of the homes new Agriprocessors workers are placed in. Each pays $100 per week for a mattress on the floor. Some of these homes have 10 to 12 workers sleeping in them. Many are unfurnished:
This last picture is a mattress and box spring (no bed frame) in a laundry closet. The open pipe on the right is a dryer vent. On the left are the hookups for the washer and dryer.
Workers complain of being assigned a mattress on the floor of moldy basements and of having 3 and sometimes 4 workers per room, 10 to 12 per house.
Each worker pays $100 per week, usually deducted from their paychecks.
The Rubashkins deserve to live in nice homes – but not at the expense of their workers. The Rubashkins live like robber barons.
Of course, there is one major difference: Robber barons did not produce product carrying the OU seal of approval.