Why did ICE raid a workplace in a red state, not near the border?

[ehrnst]

In 2018, following a nearly eight-year-long legal battle, Koch Foods Inc. settled a $3.75 million brought by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Koch Food Inc at the plant. The lawsuit alleged that Koch Foods Inc supervisors engaged in both racial and sexual harassment of Latina workers at its Morton, Mississippi plant.

The lawsuit brought by the EEOC against Koch Food Inc’s alleged “that supervisors touched and/or made sexually suggestive comments to female Hispanic employees, hit Hispanic employees and charged many of them money for normal everyday work activities.”

As part of its settlement, Koch Foods Inc. agreed to a three-year federal consent decree to change its discriminatory practices. As part of the consent decree, Koch Foods Inc. was forced to create a 24-hour-a-day bilingual hotline for workers to use to file complaints.

Many immigrants rights advocates have speculated that workers are targeted for raids after their facilities get investigated for worker abuse.

In June of 2018, ICE raided a unionized Fresh Mark meatpacking plant in Salem, Ohio; arresting 140 workers.

A week before the raid on a Fresh Mark’s Salem facility, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined Fresh Mark $211,194 for three separate incidents in which proper guards for dangerous machinery were not in place. OSHA found that the lack of safety guards resulted in the death of an undocumented worker.

http://paydayreport.com/ice-raids-miss-plant-after-3-5-million-sexual-harassment-settlement/

UPDATE:

It is not coincidental that ICE conducted the largest single-state raid in history in Mississippi the day after Jody Owens was elected the first Black DA of Hinds County.

Mississippi is undergoing a political tectonic shift; statewide races may be in play.

Link to tweet

[brer cat]

1. That would certainly send a message.

Complain and get deported.

Thanks for the post, ehrnst.

[rampartc]

2. i have not seen that any suits were arrested

ice is doing what they do best - retaliating against workers who complain about wages or working conditions.

[MarcA]

14. This n/t

[Brother Buzz]

3. Koch Foods in Morton, Mississippi, is having a bad day, possibly by design

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http://kochfoods.com/

[stillcool]

4. god, I hate when things make sense..

[A HERETIC I AM]

5. I'm wondering if some Trump supporter (hello, Mr. Perdue) might have sicced ICE on the competition.

Either way, here's hoping chicken goes to $40/LB in Mississippi.

[librechik]

6. They've raided here before, and the local cops are cooperative.

According to MSNBC. Nothing fishy about that. Especially when you need a big show to distract from how fucked up Trump is.

[Mr.Bill]

7. Were the Kochs late on a payment? n/t

[Sienna86]

8. Follow the money. n/t

[BadGimp]

10. Ding, Ding, Ding!

We have a winner imo

The Koch's were target intentionally is my guess.

They are not Trump fanboys.

[ehrnst]

15. The company isn't owned by those Koch Bros.

It's owned by Joseph Grendys.

http://kochfoodsinc.com/our-company/about-us

[Curtis]

9. I'd also look deeper at payroll dates

Perhaps the payday for workers was the 10th as it is at many places. And, perhaps there was collusion between the Koch Enterprise, the Trump Administration and ICE all to make a big raid and to save the Koch Bros quite a bit on payroll.

Just a theory

[2020Junker]

11. The company has $3 billion in revenue

I doubt 600+ underpaid workers would make a dent.

I think the Trump administration figures a 600+ net in one operation would be a publicity coup of some kind.

It does not seem to be going the way they thought it would. "Here's a child left deserted on a gym floor with a sad looking piece of pizza." Were they hoping to cut a campaign commercial out of that one? Because we certainly will.

[Curtis]

18. I get that about the money being a drop in the bucket

But, the rich can be insane about it. There's a guy in my small town worth $15 mil. He lives in squalor, refused to spend money on a surgery for his wife's cancer a few years ago even after she had me negotiate the price down to only $18,000 from almost $200k and he will argue over nickles and dimes at any of the stores in town.

And, I've seen this behavior, not as bad, with quite a few very wealthy individuals. It seems the more they have, the more miserly they become.

[2020Junker]

19. I've seen what you said

My first cousin owned his own business. Did well. He was set. His wife wanted to divorce him. It did not go well. He shot her in the back of the head and stuffed her in a barrel in the garage. Police found her a week later. He was just convicted on eight counts of murder. Sentencing in September.

Just . . . why. He would've been fine.

The dumbest amounts of money make some people crazy.

[Blue_true]

20. People like your cousin forget.

A spouse is missing. Suspect #1 is other spouse.

Not worth it. If he had more that enough, negotiate with her so that the company can keep operating. Sort of like Bezos did, his wife didn't get 50%, but she got a pile and interest in some of Amazon's ongoing businesses.

[uponit7771]

21. +1, I've seen this too & it goes beyond money / identity ... they "LOVE" money first

[2020Junker]

24. I honestly will never get it

His wife was awesome. She and I always got along. Then that happened. I haven't wrapped my head around it. Some part of my brain decided they were fictional characters.

Sometimes you have to remove yourself from the horror of what can be an every day.

[DFW]

22. 600 workers could well make a dent

There is a company in Dallas that does high volume/low margin business with about $900 million turnover a year with less than 500 employees. They hire highly-paid academic types, IT nerds, and competent accountants. They pay their people well, expect long hours, but reward some of the lower-paid ones with business trips to Europe and Hong Kong, as well as in-house BBQs and stuff like that.

The numbers alone never tell the whole story.

[2020Junker]

25. Do you have a source?

Not doubting you. I just want to read further on what you're laying out here. I'd like to read and learn.

[DFW]

27. I have known the two guys who founded it for over 30 years

I visit every time I’m in Dallas, including this afternoon. I have known many guys who work there, some of them who started working there in their twenties and are now 50 or older. One of the senior financial officers is an immigrant from Germany. She met her American husband there when he was in the military there. I also know at least two department heads who are Latina women. Both of them have been there for close 20 years, started in low level jobs and got promoted because they were both smart and reliable. One of them is a tiny sassy grandmother who could pass for a Latina version of Dr. Ruth.

I realize that not all (probably very few) companies are like this one, but I can’t believe they are totally unique, either.

[Nitram]

12. Trump said he was going after so-called sanctuary cities. Looks like he doesn't have the balls.

So an economically depressed red state shit hole just took another blow to what's left of its economy. How's that workin' out for ya?

[AllaN01Bear]

13. and yet these employers almost never get fined for violating the law themselves .

[SharonAnn]

16. The meat processing plant owner in TN was just convicted, August 1, 2019

Ex-owner of meatpacking plant targeted in mass ICE raid sentenced to 18 months in prison
James Brantley, who previously owned the Southeastern Provision meat processing plant in Tennessee, pleaded guilty last year to tax evasion, wire fraud and employing undocumented immigrants.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-owner-meatpacking-plant-targeted-mass-ice-raid-sentenced-18-n1038221

[AllaN01Bear]

23. thanks for sharing this with me . makes me smile.

[Generic Other]

17. Was Cindy Snuffy-Smith

their new senator in on the raids?

[guillaumeb]

26. To show red state voters that these "scary immigrants" are everywhere.

Not just in blue states.