New meat plant owner pledges better pay, legal workers

The Canadian businessman who bought Agriprocessors said Tuesday he will hire local residents and use a federal verification system to ensure plant employees are in the United States legally.

Hershey Friedman, 59, of Montreal, said he has added about 60 employees to the 325-person work force since buying Agriprocessors out of bankruptcy in August and renaming it Agri Star Meat and Poultry.

He said production of kosher poultry products is now at about 60 percent of capacity. He expects to resume beef slaughtering operations in early 2010, adding another 200 or so employees.

Eventually, the company expects to have a work force of more than 750.

Friedman conducted his first media interviews on the day that Sholom Rubashkin, one of the previous owner's family members, went on trial in Sioux Falls, S.D., on federal charges including immigration fraud. Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse, never completely recovered from a May 2008 immigration raid in which nearly 400 employees were arrested or detained.

Friedman said he plans to pay at least $1 to $1.50 per hour more than minimum wage for entry-level positions. Iowa's minimum wage is $7.25 per hour but $6.35 per hour for the first 90 days of employment.

Friedman said that improving conditions for employees is key to his plans to turn around the plant.

“We want it better for employees - health, safety and appearance,” he said. “If an employee works in a safe, healthy environment, output also improves.”

Friedman said he's also overhauled the company's human resources department with an eye to ensuring that all employees are legal. Among the measures are the use of a computerized system called E-Verify to verify the credentials of applicants.

“We've had people come in to apply, and when we said we have E-Verify, they've said, ‘I don't have all my paperwork with me. I'll come back,'” Friedman related. “They never come back.”

Friedman said he's bought and turned around more than 20 companies through his Polystar Group, which has interests in plastics and packaging operations in the U.S. and Canada. Agri Star is his first food venture, but Friedman said he doesn't see the food processing industry as being much different from other forms of manufacturing.

“I love challenges - taking problematic ventures and turning them around,” Friedman said.

Friedman acknowledged that buying Agriprocessors out of bankruptcy was more of a challenge than he'd expected but said he's pleased with the progress that has been made already.

A group of consultants was visiting the plant this week to advise the new owner on improvements.

Friedman announced a partnership with Northeast Iowa Community College to improve the management and the health and safety skills of managers, supervisors and employees. Agri Star has begun requiring all new employees to take safety training, including CPR, first aid and electrical training. It also plans a drug testing program.

Since the Agriprocessors raid, the price of kosher meat jumped about 15 percent nationwide and doubled in some places, said Menachem Lubinsky, who runs a kosher market newsletter.

Community leaders say Friedman hasn't held meetings with the community although he did pop in on a Postville City Council meeting Monday night. Friedman said that's mainly due to his priorities, which include “putting the plant together” first.

The Rev. Steve Brackett of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Postville said he'd like to see the new owners involved in community efforts, but “it seems like they're doing a lot to try to improve conditions in there.”

Brackett said Postville can't take another situation like the collapse of Agriprocessors, which left large numbers of workers stranded with no savings or job prospects.

“We have to make sure we don't go down some of the same roads again,” Brackett said. “This town can't take it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.