Agriprocessors accused of 31 safety violations
Posted: Saturday, August 23, 2008
DES MOINES (AP) -- Iowa labor officials on Friday accused meatpacking plant Agriprocessors with 31 new and repeat safety violations.
The Iowa Division of Labor Services proposed fining the Postville plant $101,000 for 21 serious violations, six repeat offenses and four non-serious violations.
The plant was the site of a separate May 12 federal immigration raid that led to the arrest of nearly 400 people, making it the largest single-site raid in U.S. history.
The citations announced Friday stem from a July 8 inspection by the Division of Labor Services that alleged safety and health violations throughout the plant. Among the citations were claims of improper storage and covering of cutting equipment, compressed gas cylinders improperly stored and fixed staircases in unsafe conditions.
The 31 violations follow a combined 39 violations found in November 2007 and February 2008 inspections.
The citations that claim repeat violations included a hole in the floor and lack of an exit sign.
Iowa Workforce Development spokeswoman Kerry Koonce said the proposed fine is the second-largest in the past year -- behind another Agriprocessors citation in March for $182,000. The state later reduced that fine to $42,750.
"It's certainly a large amount for any one sitting," said Koonce, whose agency oversees the labor division.
A statement released by company spokesman Menachem Lubinsky contends that the alleged violations were fixed the day of the inspection -- many of them while the inspector was on site. He said the remaining issues were fixed within days.
The statement also said that all earlier violations were corrected, but that, under law, investigators would call a violation a repeat offense even if it was found in a different part of the plant.
"We contest some of the alleged violations, and believe the label of 'serious' is not appropriate for many of the alleged violations," the statement said.
The statement claimed that eight alleged violations were attributed to one extension cord. It also states that in recent months, the company hired a former Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector and "enhanced" its safety program.
Earlier this month, a separate investigation by the Iowa Division of Labor Services led to allegations that Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, employed dozens of underage workers.
The state attorney general's office is serving as prosecutor in the underage worker case, and has not decided whether to file charges against the company while it waits for Iowa Workforce Development and the Division of Criminal Investigation to complete their investigation.
The company has had issues with worker safety in the past. Occupational Safety and Health Administration logs show records of incidents that led to five amputations, dozens of reports of broken bones, eye injuries and hearing loss at the plant between 2001 and 2006.
Agriprocessors has 15 days to respond to the state's latest allegations.
A spokesman for a union that has sought to organize workers at the plant responded sharply to news of the state citations.
"If there was a hall of shame for labor law violations, there would be a special wing for the Rubashkins and Agriprocessors," said United Food and Commercial Workers International Union spokesman Scott Frotman, referring to the family that owns the plant. "It's morally reprehensible what this company is doing."
The union was trying to organize the plant before the May raid.
The Iowa Division of Labor Services proposed fining the Postville plant $101,000 for 21 serious violations, six repeat offenses and four non-serious violations.
The plant was the site of a separate May 12 federal immigration raid that led to the arrest of nearly 400 people, making it the largest single-site raid in U.S. history.
The citations announced Friday stem from a July 8 inspection by the Division of Labor Services that alleged safety and health violations throughout the plant. Among the citations were claims of improper storage and covering of cutting equipment, compressed gas cylinders improperly stored and fixed staircases in unsafe conditions.
The 31 violations follow a combined 39 violations found in November 2007 and February 2008 inspections.
The citations that claim repeat violations included a hole in the floor and lack of an exit sign.
Iowa Workforce Development spokeswoman Kerry Koonce said the proposed fine is the second-largest in the past year -- behind another Agriprocessors citation in March for $182,000. The state later reduced that fine to $42,750.
"It's certainly a large amount for any one sitting," said Koonce, whose agency oversees the labor division.
A statement released by company spokesman Menachem Lubinsky contends that the alleged violations were fixed the day of the inspection -- many of them while the inspector was on site. He said the remaining issues were fixed within days.
The statement also said that all earlier violations were corrected, but that, under law, investigators would call a violation a repeat offense even if it was found in a different part of the plant.
"We contest some of the alleged violations, and believe the label of 'serious' is not appropriate for many of the alleged violations," the statement said.
The statement claimed that eight alleged violations were attributed to one extension cord. It also states that in recent months, the company hired a former Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector and "enhanced" its safety program.
Earlier this month, a separate investigation by the Iowa Division of Labor Services led to allegations that Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, employed dozens of underage workers.
The state attorney general's office is serving as prosecutor in the underage worker case, and has not decided whether to file charges against the company while it waits for Iowa Workforce Development and the Division of Criminal Investigation to complete their investigation.
The company has had issues with worker safety in the past. Occupational Safety and Health Administration logs show records of incidents that led to five amputations, dozens of reports of broken bones, eye injuries and hearing loss at the plant between 2001 and 2006.
Agriprocessors has 15 days to respond to the state's latest allegations.
A spokesman for a union that has sought to organize workers at the plant responded sharply to news of the state citations.
"If there was a hall of shame for labor law violations, there would be a special wing for the Rubashkins and Agriprocessors," said United Food and Commercial Workers International Union spokesman Scott Frotman, referring to the family that owns the plant. "It's morally reprehensible what this company is doing."
The union was trying to organize the plant before the May raid.
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Tim T wrote on Aug 24, 2008 10:40 PM:
USA Steve wrote on Aug 23, 2008 1:46 PM: