Conservative Movement to Provide Hekhsher Tsedek

New kosher certification would track worker dignity and worker safety

NEW YORK – A new commission of the Conservative movement of Judaism is exploring the possibility of establishing a hekhsher tsedek, a certification that food and meat processors have met a set of standards that determine the social responsibility of kosher food producers, particularly in the area of workers’ rights.

The commission was appointed by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly in response to published reports describing alleged unsafe working conditions and worker mistreatment at the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant, AgriProcessors, Inc., in Postville, Iowa. It set out to determine if the charges were accurate, to learn about working conditions at the plant, and to establish next steps, if needed, to help ensure workers’ dignity, safety and rights within the context of Jewish law, values and tradition.

The commission’s overriding objective is to ensure that the American Jewish community can continue to be able to buy kosher meat with full confidence in its integrity as a kosher product and in the presence of Jewish values in the production process.

The commission conducted site visits of AgriProcessors’ Postville plant in August and September, 2006, meeting with a wide variety of people in both labor and management, including Rabbi Sholom Mordecai Rubashkin, vice president of AgriProcessors, as well as other community leaders.

As a result of their many conversations, the commission concluded that there were indeed significant issues of concern at the plant, including those of worker health and safety.

Members of the commission subsequently met again with Rabbi Rubashkin in November to review their preliminary recommendations and to explore ways of moving those recommendations forward. Throughout their three visits, the commission emphasized a commitment to building a trusting relationship with the plant management to solve any problems.

In a December letter the commission’s chair, Rabbi Morris Allen, AgriProcessors committed to retaining a consultant to further review employee safety and health procedures and to take specific steps to address the commission’s concerns.

Several commission members also toured the Empire Kosher Poultry Plant in Mifflintown, PA. Overall, the commission found working conditions, safety conditions and general worker welfare and community relations not to be issues of concern at the Empire plant.

The commission intends to continue working with these and other kosher food manufacturers to ensure adherence to Jewish values in the production of kosher food and will be conducting other site visits.

As the humane treatment of animals is at the heart of the laws surrounding kosher slaughter, further visits may include assessments of the conditions and treatment of animals. Additional study may also include an assessment of the effects of their products on the environment by these same and other food processors.

The issue of working conditions in the kosher food industry was first reported by the Forward newspaper in May, 2006.

For more information contact Richard Lederman (301) 230-0801 ext. 1, Steve Rabinowitz (202) 265-3000, Shira Dicker (212) 663-4643 or Joanne Palmer (212) 533-7800 ext. 2601.