CNMI residents find work at Iowa meatpacking plant

There are several residents from the CNMI who are now working with Agriprocessors, a Kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa, and there are still some 150 more jobs available at the plant, according to a grandson of company founder Aaron Rubashkin.

According to an e-mail from Shalom Rubashkin Jr., who works at the plant’s sales department, their workers from the CNMI did not come directly from Saipan. He did not elaborate.

He said citizens from Micronesia such as Guam, Palau, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the CNMI can apply for 150 more jobs available at the plant.

There are about 950 Agriprocessors employees at its Iowa plant.

Earlier, the Minister of State of Palau, Temmy Shmull, said during an official visit on Saipan that the management of the plant told him that they need 150 more workers.

In May this year, U.S. immigration officials raided the plant’s compound for illegal workers and lodged several complaints against the management of the company.

Rubashkin noted that as of Sept. 8, there were about 130 Palauans who started working at the plant, with all types of jobs such as in laundry, trucking, beef, poultry, etc.

He said Minister Shmull met with the manager of beef Brent Beebe, Palauan workers’ representative Webster Franz and Heshy Rubashkin. He said they discussed the working conditions of the workers like housing.

Shumull stated that the Palauans are in good condition and well protected under U.S. labor regulations.

Rubashkin said the Palauan Ambassador to the US, Hersey Kyota, accompanied Shmull on his visit.

Saipan Tribune obtained a copy of a letter to the Chief of the Division in Palau Russel Masayos, written by Gening Liao, Assistant General Counsel of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

The letter, Rubashkin said, tried to scare the Palauans from coming to Iowa.

Agriprocessors, UCFW told Masayos, was recently raided by the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and as a result, “a series of shocking allegations against Agriprocessors have come to light, including unlawful child labor, sexual harassment of female workers and the physical abuse of workers.”

The letter also enumerated numerous violations, citing articles in the Des Moines Register that were allegedly committed by Agriprocessors following the raid.

UFCW told the Palau labor office that “as a responsible government agency, we urge you to reconsider referring workers to a potentially dangerous workplace until the allegations surrounding Agriprocessors are resolved.”

Rubashkin said the family and friends of Agriprocessors have created their own website to counter the media blitz against the company.

For a little background history, he explained that in 2006 the UFCW, one of the various unions in the U.S.A., “tried to unionize the plant. When they realized that the employees weren’t going along with it, they started what’s called a ‘corporate campaign’ against Agriprocessors, and in short misrepresent facts to try harm the company’s business.”

“Unfortunately the American media is very sympathetic to unions in general, and hence these one-sided articles,” he said.

Rubashkin clarified, though, that he is not authorized to speak on behalf of the company, saying he is writing from a personal perspective to clarify issues and answer several inquiries from Saipan Tribune.