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Ayanle Hussein, right, plays card game as Abdi Subery, 26, looks on at the Somali restaurant in Postville on Thursday August 21, 2008.(RICK TIBBOTT/ Courier Staff Photographer)
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Agriprocessors faces $101,000 fine
By JENS MANUEL KROGSTAD and CHARLOTTE EBY, Courier Staff Writers
DES MOINES --- State regulators have cited Postville meatpacker Agriprocessors for 31 separate safety violations and are recommending a fine of $101,000.
The alleged violations stem from a July 8 inspection and come on the heels of allegations that the plant violated child labor laws.
Violations classified as "serious" by inspectors include failure to provide railings on raised work platforms, failure to properly store compressed gas cylinders, improper use of temporary wiring and failure to properly guard moving equipment. Some of the worker safety violations were repeat violations.
"Iowa workers deserve a healthy and safe workplace, and continued new and repeat violations by the same company creates a negative view of Iowa employers," Iowa Labor Commissioner David Neil said in a statement.
The company, in a written statement, expressed regret over the findings and said it was working with state officials.
It disputed the seriousness of some problems, most of which it claimed were corrected the day of the inspection.
Agriprocessors argued the number of violations does not correlate to widespread problems at the plant.
"For instance, eight of the alleged violations relate to one extension cord," the statement read.
The company also noted it has taken several steps since the raid to improve working conditions.
However, current employees this week raised questions about safety at the plant after the inspection, as well as the effectiveness of two new safety efforts the company touted --- increased safety training and the establishment of an anonymous tip line for workers to report safety concerns.
The company has 15 days to respond to the latest alleged violations and proposed fines. Neil said he could not provide more details because the investigation was still open.
State safety officials took action in March against Agriprocessors, issuing 39 citations and recommending penalties of $182,000. The state later reduced the fine to $42,750.
Agriprocessors was the site of a raid by federal immigration officials in May, the largest of its kind in the nation's history. Close to 400 workers were detained.
Worker complaints
Jamal Abdi, an Agriprocessors employee from Somalia, hangs out with his countrymen at the old Sunday Mattress factory store on Postville's main street every day after work. The barren restaurant, thick with the smell of spices, contains a few folding chairs, tables and freshly painted walls.
The restaurant, which has yet to even formally open, lost much of its customer base last week. Several hundred Somali refugees arrived from Minneapolis about a month ago and found employment at Agriprocessors, but most no longer work there.
A veteran of the industry at 21 years old, Abdi said he suspects the company fired many of the Somalis last week because they had never worked at a meat processing plant and thus moved too slowly. He figures they never really had a chance.
"They don't train them. They just say, 'Do it!' They just say, 'Go to the line and just do it!'" he said earlier this week, waving his arms excitedly.
Echoing complaints voiced by workers nearly two months ago, another Agriprocessors employee said the company has failed to provide proper safety equipment. In addition, he said the building lacks emergency lighting and clear, safe walkways.
He said he started his job in late July, weeks after the tour by state inspectors.
The man spoke on the condition of anonymity, out of fear of losing his job. He confirmed his employment by showing The Courier his most recent pay stub.
He throws salt, he said, all day from a balcony several feet above the ground floor onto large chunks of meat hanging from hooks that pass by on a conveyer belt.
To protect his arms, he said the company provides him with plastic sleeves. But, he added, those sleeves don't provide a tight seal, and they tear easily.
When he complained recently to his supervisor about a burning sensation on his skin, he said he was told to stay on the line.
"The supervisor looked around, like, 'What do you want me to do?'" he said.
Nearly three hours later, he said he saw a nurse, who applied peroxide and bandages.
Two scars the size of pennies now dimple his arm and hands where he said salt ate through his skin.
"I told them I needed coveralls, but they didn't agree. It's like talking to a brick wall. I tried calling the 888 number but I got the run-around," he said, referring to a toll-free hot line for workers created after the raid.
The worker also questioned the lack of emergency flood lights inside the plant.
Since he started his employment, he said the plant has temporarily lost power twice, leaving workers completely in the dark.
The first time, he said, he grasped his way in the dark down the stairs to escape his perch above the factory floor. Hand rails were attached to the stairs, but once on the ground floor, he said he took care not to trip over meat hooks lying on the floor.
"When the lights go out, they're calling you, 'Come out.' But I can't see! Go where?" he said. "What kind of person walks in that condition?"
Now, he brings a flashlight to work every day, and he said a few other workers have followed his lead.
In addition, he said, in order to reach several departments in the plant, workers must maneuver around swinging hunks of meat that weigh several hundred pounds.
"There's no clear walkway, no one to say walk here so you don't get run over by the cow," he said. "The meat is swinging, and you've just got to dodge. The guy pushing (the meat down the line), he couldn't care less because he just wants to get his job done."
Contact Jens Krogstad at 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.
Contact Charlotte Eby at
(515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
The alleged violations stem from a July 8 inspection and come on the heels of allegations that the plant violated child labor laws.
Violations classified as "serious" by inspectors include failure to provide railings on raised work platforms, failure to properly store compressed gas cylinders, improper use of temporary wiring and failure to properly guard moving equipment. Some of the worker safety violations were repeat violations.
"Iowa workers deserve a healthy and safe workplace, and continued new and repeat violations by the same company creates a negative view of Iowa employers," Iowa Labor Commissioner David Neil said in a statement.
The company, in a written statement, expressed regret over the findings and said it was working with state officials.
It disputed the seriousness of some problems, most of which it claimed were corrected the day of the inspection.
Agriprocessors argued the number of violations does not correlate to widespread problems at the plant.
"For instance, eight of the alleged violations relate to one extension cord," the statement read.
The company also noted it has taken several steps since the raid to improve working conditions.
However, current employees this week raised questions about safety at the plant after the inspection, as well as the effectiveness of two new safety efforts the company touted --- increased safety training and the establishment of an anonymous tip line for workers to report safety concerns.
The company has 15 days to respond to the latest alleged violations and proposed fines. Neil said he could not provide more details because the investigation was still open.
State safety officials took action in March against Agriprocessors, issuing 39 citations and recommending penalties of $182,000. The state later reduced the fine to $42,750.
Agriprocessors was the site of a raid by federal immigration officials in May, the largest of its kind in the nation's history. Close to 400 workers were detained.
Worker complaints
Jamal Abdi, an Agriprocessors employee from Somalia, hangs out with his countrymen at the old Sunday Mattress factory store on Postville's main street every day after work. The barren restaurant, thick with the smell of spices, contains a few folding chairs, tables and freshly painted walls.
The restaurant, which has yet to even formally open, lost much of its customer base last week. Several hundred Somali refugees arrived from Minneapolis about a month ago and found employment at Agriprocessors, but most no longer work there.
A veteran of the industry at 21 years old, Abdi said he suspects the company fired many of the Somalis last week because they had never worked at a meat processing plant and thus moved too slowly. He figures they never really had a chance.
"They don't train them. They just say, 'Do it!' They just say, 'Go to the line and just do it!'" he said earlier this week, waving his arms excitedly.
Echoing complaints voiced by workers nearly two months ago, another Agriprocessors employee said the company has failed to provide proper safety equipment. In addition, he said the building lacks emergency lighting and clear, safe walkways.
He said he started his job in late July, weeks after the tour by state inspectors.
The man spoke on the condition of anonymity, out of fear of losing his job. He confirmed his employment by showing The Courier his most recent pay stub.
He throws salt, he said, all day from a balcony several feet above the ground floor onto large chunks of meat hanging from hooks that pass by on a conveyer belt.
To protect his arms, he said the company provides him with plastic sleeves. But, he added, those sleeves don't provide a tight seal, and they tear easily.
When he complained recently to his supervisor about a burning sensation on his skin, he said he was told to stay on the line.
"The supervisor looked around, like, 'What do you want me to do?'" he said.
Nearly three hours later, he said he saw a nurse, who applied peroxide and bandages.
Two scars the size of pennies now dimple his arm and hands where he said salt ate through his skin.
"I told them I needed coveralls, but they didn't agree. It's like talking to a brick wall. I tried calling the 888 number but I got the run-around," he said, referring to a toll-free hot line for workers created after the raid.
The worker also questioned the lack of emergency flood lights inside the plant.
Since he started his employment, he said the plant has temporarily lost power twice, leaving workers completely in the dark.
The first time, he said, he grasped his way in the dark down the stairs to escape his perch above the factory floor. Hand rails were attached to the stairs, but once on the ground floor, he said he took care not to trip over meat hooks lying on the floor.
"When the lights go out, they're calling you, 'Come out.' But I can't see! Go where?" he said. "What kind of person walks in that condition?"
Now, he brings a flashlight to work every day, and he said a few other workers have followed his lead.
In addition, he said, in order to reach several departments in the plant, workers must maneuver around swinging hunks of meat that weigh several hundred pounds.
"There's no clear walkway, no one to say walk here so you don't get run over by the cow," he said. "The meat is swinging, and you've just got to dodge. The guy pushing (the meat down the line), he couldn't care less because he just wants to get his job done."
Contact Jens Krogstad at 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.
Contact Charlotte Eby at
(515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
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