The Dairy Farmers of America cooperative is a giant conglomerate of 4800 dairy farms and 119 manufacturing and production plant around the county, including 400 dairy farms in Wisconsin alone. They are in the process of taking over one more, W&W Dairy in Monroe, Wisconsin.
As part of the takeover, the DFA has chosen to comply with the E-Verify program to document the immigration status of each worker, not that the ICEtapo cares about such things. This decision will affect many of the workers and will force their termination of employment.
Last week, over 40 workers went on strike, not to protest the company complying with the program, but to demand the company respect the rights of the departing workers, some who have been there for decades. They are calling for severance pay, accrued time off to be paid, and that the company not resort to threats and retaliation against the workers in an effort to bully them:
At a rally in front of the facility Tuesday, organizers from labor unions and the Milwaukee-based immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera argued the workers are entitled to compensation for their years of service.
Luis Velazquez, an organizer with Voces de la Frontera, read a letter from one of the striking workers, most of whom would not give their names out of fear of retribution.
“We are on strike because we demand that the company respect our rights as workers, that it recognize our seniority, provide us with fair compensation for the years we have worked, and not resort to threats or retaliation,” the letter read.
What really stands out is the irony of the situation. W&W Dairy isn't just a run of the mill dairy:
Not all affected workers are on strike, according to organizers, and O’Brien did not respond to a question about what percentage of the plant’s workforce has walked out. According to its E-Verify filing, under 100 people work at the plant, which markets its “Authentic and Fresh Hispanic Style Cheeses,” like queso blanco, queso fresca and cotija.
At Tuesday’s rally, Neumann-Ortiz noted the company has won awards for its Mexican-style cheeses.
That’s “thanks to the hard work and the dedication and the talent of these workers right here, and they deserve to be honored,” she said.
To crap on the people who won the company awards for their cheese like that is just asinine. I hope karma - or would it be cowma - is swift in visiting the executives who made such a bullshit decision.
