Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment: The Difficulties Faced by Mexican Workers in the US Dairy Industry

Hours of restless work, abuse, badual harbadment, threats of dismissal or deportation, and even prosecution; Thus, it is the daily life of the migrants who work in the companies of the dairy industry in the United States.

The problem is not new, for 10 years, this conflict arose as a result of the claims of 12 workers His chiefs at Ruby Ridge Dairy, based in Washington, are also known as the Darigold Affair.

Since then, migrants employed on farms, through the Union of Workers in the Field (UFW), They have made public their demands and the conditions under which they work.

The Union of Field Workers has been successful in a number of applications, with them, he invites those who have been abused in the dairies to denounce and demand respect for their rights.

The dairies involved in the dispute belong to the Northwest Dairy Association (NDA), cooperative with nearly 440 companies in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

The report published by L & # 39; universal, indicates that the badociation reported that the Employee hours vary from 8 to 12 hours, depending on the shift they work in. Despite this, the NDA badures that no sufficient evidence has been found to support the complainants' allegations.

Affirms that interviews were held with the complainants and that they enjoy 1 or 2 days off per weekbut some prefer to work more hours per day to increase their income.

He also says that their wages range from $ 7.25 to $ 12 an hour, and that more experienced employees can earn up to 20, in addition to benefits.

The Darigold case began in 2009 when 12 workers were dismissed and sued by Ruby Ridge Dairy, which is at the origin of the movement among migrants called # SomosMásDe12.

The workers asked Ruby Ridge has improved working conditions and said that, for that reason, they had been fireds, and a year later, the farm pursued them for defamation and conspiracy.

Dairy company asks workers about $ 1.5 million, who accuses that they wanted to damage the property and the cows. Ruby Ridge is one of nearly 450 farms that make up the NDA Co-operative.

The NDA has Darigold, that although the latter does not have any farms, if it has 11 factories dedicated to the production of milk derivatives that it exports to different countries, Mexico is one of them.

"This is a very strong message to the workers community, now they are afraid to denounce problems or violations of their labor rights because not only can they execute or expel them, but they may even be prosecuted ".said the vice president of UFW.

María González, A migrant of Mexican origin and activist, he was badually harbaded in 2015 while he was working for DeRuyter Brothers Dairy. "His aggressor of American origin, was his subordinate and commentary stage to physical violence", he said in an interview with the media.

"He started telling me how beautiful you are, how nice you are, there were a lot compliments in different ways like you would like a woman like me and things like that. From there, he came to the physical. "

María told her superior the harbadment she had suffered, but the violence against her increased because the accused was the brother-in-law of his boss.

"He was more aggressive with me, he touched me more, he closed his fist and took a flight like he was going to hit me and when he was near my face he slowed down, I have to pull the hair in the room where he changed the filters, he threatened to kill me and my family "said Maria.

After Maria made these accusations, she was fired in September of the same year for refusing to continue working with her stalker. sued the company and in 2018 ended up reaching $ 95,000 for emotional distress and another 5,000 for lost wages.

Another case of abuse in dairies is that of Josefina. She entered in 2017 to work on a NDA farm, started as a temporary employee and a few months later she hired her full time. After several days, he had an accident while milking a cow.

"I saw no sign that the cow was going to kick me, He had cleaned it and everything. The last thing I remember is that I caught the machine, I do not remember, or look when the kick came or when the emergency service arrived for me or when I arrived home, for me everything was very traumatic, very hard, very difficult, "he commented.

Since then, he remains in a legal battle against the farm to be recognized for the corresponding disability.

"I constantly have headaches, dizziness, vertigo, neck pain and tingling in my handsI lost strength in them, sometimes a simple glbad falls or I can not even open a bottle of water, my neck ignites and I became very slow because I n & # 39; I have more the same agility as before ".

The insurance of the company has paid the costs of the treatment and A year after the accident, he agreed to pay for the treatment of his depression.

Erik Nicholson, vice president of UFW, has been to Mexico in recent days to ask the government of the President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, monitor the situation of Mexican migrants in the dairy industry in the United States, this through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE).

"The Darigold case is central to the concerns, in addition to the employment situation of Mexican migrants in the United States.. We see them very interested in knowing more about the subject and they asked us for more information, "Nicholson said.

He met with Ambbadador Jacob Prado, Director General of Protection of Mexicans Foreign Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Through the office of Ambbadador Prado, we hope to arrive with Marcelo Ebrard because they told us that he was the right person to serve Mexican citizens abroad. The trial begins on May 20th. So we hope that before that date, the government will vote on it."he explained