Not such a happy Labor Day at Agriprocessors

A guest post by Juggling Frogs

In celebration of the Labor Day, the New York Times published an article today about Agriprocessors busting unions at its Brooklyn plant.

What a mess.

I accept and appreciate the various thoughtful and reasoned stands that defend the OU for not forming their own INS. I see great value in deferring to the investigative authority in the context of a (just and fair) government. This is a parallel argument to requiring reporting domestic or sexual abuse to police, rather than conducting an "in house" investigation.

But the arguments reportedly offered by the company echo that old joke, where the suspect accused of patricide asks for the court's mercy because he's an orphan.

One wonders, however, why nobody takes the Meatpacker's Union to task for enrolling illegal immigrants. Not only is it illegal, it's counter to the union's stated goals.

I'd like to be dan l'chaf zchut, but my imagination is running dry. If someone has an exculpatory scenario that would give chizzuk to those whose "innocent until proven guilty" and "benefit of the doubt" muscles feel strained, please share it.

(Extra points for creativity and difficulty of execution.)



(Disclaimer: Our family is not a customer of Agriprocessors for personal reasons that are unrelated (and predate) the alleged labor practice issues. Our lack of use of their products has nothing to do with a boycott, and if we suddenly did want to participate in one, it would be meaningless, as it would not change their sales at all.)
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Buy his book. (Or he'll go on strike. Please don't call us guest posters "scabs".)