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Workers voice anger at Agriprocessors(Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids, IA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 4--POSTVILLE -- More than 100 former Agriprocessors workers who came for back pay and answers left a meeting last night with the same shortchanged feeling that has characterized their lives in recent weeks. "You can take this job and shove it," shouted Mark Stubbs as he stalked out of a meeting at the high school after providing specific instructions as to where the job could be shoved. "What are we supposed to tell our kids when we can't put food on the table?" asked Sarah Peck, another former Agriprocessors worker who was told she would not be getting the back pay owed her by the troubled kosher meatpack er any time soon. "I'm not the bad guy here," said bankruptcy trustee Joseph Sarachek, who delivered the bad news to the former workers. Sarachek said a budget approved this week by the bankruptcy court provides funding to run the chicken processing portion of the plant though Dec. 12, with a two-month extension likely. Workers needed for the operation have already been notified, and some of them worked Wednesday processing about 4,000 chickens. Those workers will receive their back pay during the next four weeks, he said. Former workers not called back will have to file a claim with the bankruptcy court for their back pay -- a process that could take more than a year, he said. Sarachek said his top priority is to get the plant -- which has been shut down for about three weeks -- back up and running to make it as attractive as possible to potential buyers, of which there are many. He said it would take about 10 weeks to process the more than 700,000 chickens that are part of the company's assets. At one point Sarachek threatened to leave the meeting if the former workers did not stop yelling. Maryn Olson, coordinator of the recently established Postville Response Coalition, asked Sarachek to explain how workers were selected to be called back. Referring to the disgruntled former workers in the audience, she said, "These are the people who stayed. They want to work." Sarachek said his management team made the recommendations and he approved them. Workers will have an opportunity today to explain their plight to Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, who will hold a public meeting at 1:30 p.m. in Turner Hall, a community center providing relief for the displaced workers. Judge will review support the state has provided and discuss state efforts to help residents meet short -- and long-term needs. She also will gather input from residents and announce new forms of aid, including the assignment of three AmeriCorps*VISTA members to work with Postville residents starting next week. State aid to Postville includes a $698,000 grant to help pay for rent and utilities for families who've lost jobs because of the Agriprocessors closing. -- Contact the writer: (319)-9343172 or [email protected] To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gazetteonline.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |