http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/us/06meat.html?hpInquiry Finds Under-Age Workers at Meat Plant
By JULIA PRESTON
Published: August 5, 2008
State labor investigators have identified 57 under-age workers who were employed at a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, and have asked the attorney general to bring criminal charges against the company for child labor violations, Dave Neil, the Iowa Labor Commissioner, said on Tuesday.
The investigation brings to light egregious violations of virtually every aspect of Iowas child labor laws, Mr. Neil said in a statement announcing the results of a seven-month investigation at Agriprocessors, the nations largest kosher meat plant.
In a raid in May, 389 illegal immigrant workers were detained there in the largest immigration enforcement operation ever at a single workplace.
Mr. Neil said that investigators had found multiple child labor law violations for each under-age worker at the plant. They included employing minors in prohibited occupations, exposing them to hazardous chemicals, and making them work with prohibited tools like knives and saws, he said.
In a statement, Agriprocessors said it was at a loss to understand the investigation results. The company said it had cooperated with the inquiry, providing documents and opening the plant to inspectors. Last year, Agriprocessors fired four workers who were under age but had provided false documents as evidence they were old enough to work, the statement said.
Kerry Koonce, a spokeswoman for Iowa Workforce Development, the state labor department, said the number of under-age workers was by far the largest in an Iowa child labor case.
If convicted on criminal charges, the company could face fines of $500,000 to $1 million, Ms. Koonce said.
Because of the dangers of meatpacking, it is generally illegal under Iowa law for a company to employ a worker under 18 in the slaughter and packing areas of a meat or poultry plant.
At least 24 under-age workers, as young as 13, were arrested in the raid in May. Others who were not caught in the morning raid because they worked at night stopped going to jobs at the plant.
Hm, yeah, I'm always taken in by those 13 year old Guatemalans. They always look like 18 year old Americans to me.
Y'all can probably guess my feelings on this. Cautionary tale for all people of faith: Claiming that merely by virtue of your adherence to a particular moral/legal system you must be a righteous person who avoids wrongdoing is likely to lead to massive abuses. The only thing that leads to righteousness is behaving rightly, not being born to or adhering to a particular creed.
