FEDS BUST "SLAVE LABOR" IN MISSISSIPPI

Agriprocessors is in big trouble, a kosher food processing plant, and they just got busted big time. Today it was for "nearly 600 suspected illegal aliens" in their employ, but The Bench sniffed around and found that only a few weeks ago they were charged with employing over 50 under-age workers. It is being reported late this afternoon by AP that "Federal officials say nearly 600 suspected illegal immigrants were detained in a raid on a manufacturing plant in southern Mississippi, making it the largest such sweep in the country." [Source] On August 5, however, it was reported by the New York Times that Mississippit State labor investigators "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." MORE at NY Times... LIKE SLAVE LABOR Back on July 27, the NY Times reported that some of the illegal aliens were also under-age: One, a Guatemalan named Elmer L. who said he was 16 when he started working on the plant’s killing floors, said he worked 17-hour shifts, six days a week. In an affidavit, he said he was constantly tired and did not have time to do anything but work and sleep. “I was very sad,” he said, “and I felt like I was a slave.” FULL STORY... Way back on May 14, The Jewish Week reported that the federal government was working on allegations of abuse and illegal hiring practices: Two legal experts suggested this week that the federal government could be laying the groundwork for possible indictments against the owners of the country’s largest kosher meat manufacturer. FULL STORY... Eye On Agriprocessors is a web site devoted entirely to covering issues at the processing plant. Agriprocessors has several plants around the nation, and all seem to be under fire for a number of alleged violations, including animal cruelty.