Only 35 cars in the parking lot as opposed to hundreds on a normal post-raid day. Main boilers not operating. My sources tell me…
…just what the Des Moines Register is now reporting:
Slow production fuels speculation about future of Postville meat plant
BY GRANT SCHULTE AND TONY LEYS
Postville’s kosher meat processing plant is running at a capacity far lower than normal this morning, several residents said today, sparking increased speculation that the plant will shut down permanently.
Two main boilers at Agriprocessors, Inc. are not operating, and a local priest who drove past the parking lot counted only 35 cars - far fewer
than the hundreds visible on a typical day.
The plant’s beef kill department remains out of service as it was last week, said the Rev. Paul Ouderkirk, pastor of St. Bridget’s Catholic Church in Postville. Ouderkirk is one of several local religious leaders who care for workers with housing or food needs.
The plant’s other meat departments, turkey and chicken kill, “are still going as far as we know,” Ouderkirk said.
The plant’s financial troubles have mounted in recent weeks as company managers grapple with worker shortages and overdue bills.
Bernard Feldman, Agriprocessors’ chief executive officer, acknowledged Monday that the plant was struggling to continue.
“I don’t believe we’re going to have substantial production of any kind in the near future,” he said.
Feldman is a New York lawyer who has done legal work for the Rubashkin family, which owns Agriprocessors. He was named chief executive officer in September, after the nation’s largest kosher-certifying agency said it would pull its certification unless a new leader was hired.
Feldman said this morning that he was talking with outside investors or companies interested in buying a stake in Agriprocessors. He described those talks as “full-blown discussions,” and he said he was optimistic they would lead to a re-opening of the plant. He declined further comment, saying he didn’t want to jeopardize the negotiations.
Agriprocessors was the site of one of the largest single-site immigration raids in U.S. history in May. The raid, which netted 389 illegal immigrants, thrust the company into the national spotlight and gutted a large segment of its work force.
Last week, at least four companies filed lawsuits against the meatpacker including St. Louis-based First Bank, which alleged Agriprocessors defaulted on a $35 million loan and overstated how much money it had available.
Also last week, Sholom Rubashkin, a senior plant manager, was arrested and charged with federal immigration crimes for allegedly harboring hundreds of illegal workers at the plant.
Agriprocessors also has received a power disconnect notice because of unpaid bills, said Alliant Energy spokesman Ryan Stensland.
Stensland stressed that Alliant was still working with Agriprocessors to establish a payment plan. Disconnecting a customer’s power after serving notice can take between 48 hours and a week, he said.
“Disconnects are a last resort option,” Stensland said. “We have worked with them for a number of months to work out a payment option. And we’ll continue to work with them.”
Stensland said he could not disclose how much Agriprocessors owes Alliant Energy.
Meanwhile, a staffing firm that provides workers to Agriprocessors said it was awaiting confirmation that the plant would run today.
Matt Ryan, the president of Kentucky-based One Force Staffing, said his workers could continue their jobs at the plant “as long as the plant is still working.”
“We’re still waiting to hear back from them,” Ryan said. “My only comment would be that (Agriprocessors is) a customer in good standing. We don’t have any issues with them as far as finances.”