Along a desolate country road in northeastern Wisconsin, Manuel Estrada speeds toward work in his rumbling silver Ford SUV. He’s running late for his predawn shift. And he’s worried.
His boss is counting on him; she’s been down a worker for a month. More than 400 Holstein cows stand blinking, waiting to be milked. His family needs the paycheck from his $11.50-per-hour job.
And Estrada, 30, hopes the police aren’t waiting for him, too.
Many area dairy farm workers “scared of government” and returning to Mexico, leaving farm owners with major help problems
DURAND — In the driveway of a two-story house on a dairy farm in western Wisconsin, five men focus on a unique construction project. Using a drill, hammer and nails, plywood and rope, they work together in the afternoon sun to erect a structure that resembles a makeshift corral in the bed of a Honda pickup.
A “newbie’s” commentary on JONAH’s “Action Day” trip to Madison
Editor’s Note: More than 800 people gathered in Madison last week to meet with state legislators under the auspices of WISDOM, a statewide organization dedicated to linking Wisconsin communities to work for justice. An Eau Claire contingent from JONAH made the trip and one of its members provided the following commentary from her personal perspective, […]