At Taboun Grill in Skokie, the Sunday dinner hour is controlled chaos. A cashier is ringing up checks with one hand and handing over takeout orders with the other. The wait staff rushes around delivering orders to packed tables. Behind a counter, flames flare up as a cook throws skewers of meat and vegetables on the grill.
The work can be hard, but the employees know they will be treated well. Taboun is one of six Kosher restaurants and catering companies in the Chicago area that have been awarded the Tav HaYosher (Hebrew for ethical seal), certifying that they treat their workers fairly.
Tav HaYosher is part of the ethical kashrut movement, a sort of fair trade kosher that is beginning to establish a toehold locally. Kosher establishments that receive the seal meet an ethical labor standard, including paying workers at least minimum wage, giving them appropriate breaks and time off, and maintain a safe working environment. A similar standard has recently been developed for kosher food producers.
Developed by Orthodox social justice organization Uri L'Tzedek, the Tav HaYosher certification program was a response to the widespread fraud and violations of child labor, immigration and environmental policies at Agriprocessor, the country's largest kosher slaughterhouse and meatpacking company, based in Postville, Iowa. A federal judge last year sentenced its chief executive to 27 years for financial fraud.
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