Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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One year after revelations of exploitative and abusive work practices at the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant made national headlines and shook the consciousness of the Jewish community, Uri L’Tzedek (Awaken to Justice), an Orthodox social justice movement, is publicly launching an ethical seal for kosher eating establishments.
“After seeing the pain and suffering inflicted by our own kosher industry on the stranger and the poor, the very people the Torah demands we protect, we realized we needed to be proactive and make a change,” said Shmuly Yanklowitz, founder and co-director of Uri L’Tzedek. “We asked ourselves how we, as Orthodox Jews, could create a system to protect the standards that Jewish law and ethics demand.”
According to Yanklowitz, recent studies of New York City food establishments have revealed that thousands of restaurant workers are denied minimum wage, overtime and withstand abuse and harassment.
“We believed the Tav HaYosher would be a concrete, strategic way to make postivie change in the lives of the strangers within our gates — something demanded by Jewish Law,” he said.
In order to receive the Tav HaYosher, kosher restaurants must meet specific guidelines designed to protect fair pay, fair time and a safe work environment. The standards include pay at or above minimum wage for tipped and non-tipped employees, overtime and break time allowance. Display of the seal will also inducate a work environment free of abuse, harassment and discrimination.
“Our campaign is a postive one,” said Ari Hart, co-director of Uri L’Tzedek. “We’re looking to offer the carrot, not the stick.”
The American ethical seal developed by Uri L’Tzedek mirrors a similar campaign in Israel, known there as Tav Chevrati. The Israeli campaign has awarded its seal to more than 350 restaurants, and has trained compliance monitors to inspect restaurants every four to six weeks.
A similar U.S. movement — known as Hekhsher Tzedek — is a shared effort between the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and specifically targets kosher food manufacturers. The seal would be placed on manufactured kosher food products, along with the traditional kosher certification seal, as proof that the food was manufactured with ethical standards. The Hekhsher Tzedek anticipates a formal launch in either late summer or early fall.
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