Laurie & Joe Brofsky - Hewlett E. Rockaway Jewish Center

social outreach
magen tzedek:
connecting spirit and deed
BEVERLY WACHTEL
HERJC HEKSHER TZEDEK REP
As you know from reading this column
in Hakol and handouts that
have been available at HERJC, Magen
Tzedek is a symbol that will appear
alongside the symbol of kosher certification
on kosher food products in
the United States beginning this year,
showing that the food meets not only
kosher dietary standards, but that it
is also ethically kosher. The Magen Tzedek project was
launched by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United
Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and is now supported
by a wide variety of organizations, spanning the
Jewish spectrum. To qualify for Magen Tzedek certification,
companies will be evaluated in five areas: wages &
benefits, health safety and training, corporate honesty
and integrity, environmental impact, and product development
including animal welfare. Concern for animals
and the environment was described in the Jan./Feb.
issue; this issue focuses on labor concerns.
Rabbi Morris Allen is actively involved in immigration
rights issues and with the labor issues addressed by
Magen Tzedek. He explains that the Bible is filled with
images of what it means to be responsible for the
employment of other human beings. In Leviticus, Torah
teaches that “the wages of a laborer shall not remain
with you until morning.” In Deuteronomy it teaches
“you shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer…
You must pay his wages on the same day, before the sun
sets, for he is needy and his life depends upon it; else he
will cry out to Adonai about you, and you will be
judged to be guilty.”
Rabbi Morris asked workers to describe conditions at
the plants at which they are employed. Axel Funtes, an
immigrant from Guatamala, described the meat production
plant in Milan, Missouri. The plant has grown so
large that there are not enough workers. The speed of
the production line is so fast that workers are not given
permission to go to the bathroom or to medical
appointments. If they miss a day of work, even with a
note from their doctor they are given a negative point.
They are given a half negative point for taking a bathroom
break or leaving early (if they are sick). When
they accumulate six negative points, they are fired.
When a worker requested a harness because he works
on a platform that is fifteen feet high, he was given one
but not provided with a place on which to hook it. If
workers ask for an inspection by OSHA, they are fired.
In order for OSHA to inspect a plant, they need to be
called, and because there are too few inspectors and
none in that area, there are few inspections.
There are many, many horror stories of deplorable
working conditions in Kosher food plants. Americans
are disconnected to the way their food is produced. It is
expected that Magen Tzedek will transform the way we
think about the food we eat. American consumers who
request Magen Tzedek certification will show that they
share a responsibility for the safety, livelihood and dignity
of the workers who prepare the food they eat.
Yasher Koach
on a Great Response!!
Your gifts of Passover food made the holiday a
happy one for so many lives that were touched with
your generosity and caring. Please continue to
think about the less fortunate when you do
your food shopping.
Thank You,
Phyllis Gilbert Nadler, Community Service Chair
page 12 MAY/JUNE 2011 www.herjc.org HAKOL