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Agriprocessors Workers Unsure of How to get Paid

By Becky Ogann

Story Created: May 16, 2008 at 5:21 PM CDT

Story Updated: May 16, 2008 at 6:54 PM CDT

POSTVILLE - There is a feeling of uneasiness at St. Bridget's Church in Postville as workers wait to hear how or if they'll get their Friday paychecks.

Federal agents arrested 389 suspected illegal immigrants at the Postville meat packing plant on Monday. 306 of them now face criminal charges. Since then many of their family members and others have taken refuge at the Catholic church in Postville.

They are waiting in the church as lawyers from the Archdiocese of Dubuque and lawyers from the Agriprocessors plant try to work out a solution.

On Friday afternoon, the president of Agriprocessors plant walked up to the front lawn of the church, hundreds of workers literally swarmed him. He wanted them to come to the plant to pick up their checks.

The workers said no from fear of federal agents being there to pick them up. Workers wanted the checks brought to the church. The president said that's against protocol and the Department of Labor.

The plant emphasizes they have to mail the checks. And so that's where we are now, the legal departments from both the plant and Archdiocese are working out a solution, one that mind involve sending all the checks to the same P.O. box.

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