In the past decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of immigrants entering Wisconsin which has greatly increased the state’s Latino population — from 93,000 to 447,290, according to a Dairy Workers Study conducted by the School for Workers…
Alexia Kulwiec
Faculty collaborate on U.S. Department of Agriculture $1.5 million grant to study K-12 school food service workforce
A team of researchers has received a $1.5 million cooperative award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to examine the state of school food service in the U.S. and explore strategies to create “a stable …
Trapped on Wisconsin farms: The hidden plight of trafficked workers
More than 10,000 undocumented immigrant workers perform an estimated 70% of the labor on Wisconsin dairy farms, according to an April 2023 survey by the School for Workers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Despite increasingly …
What to do if you’re laid off
The month of January saw a surge in layoff announcements across a variety of industries in Wisconsin and throughout the country. Associate Professor Alexia Kulwiec speaks with WPR on what to do if you’re laid …
Legal updates | December 2023
The NLRB, U.S. Supreme Court, and U.S. Department of Labor changes important to know.
An Ohio man was laid off shortly after moving to Wisconsin. How to protect yourself in an at-will state
An Ohio resident who moved to Milwaukee for a new job was laid off nine days later. An employment expert, Associate Professor Alexia Kulwiec, give Public Investigator some advice on protecting yourself. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel …
Dane County approves $8 million for housing for immigrant dairy workers. Sheriff’s office will try to close language gaps.
County officials in Wisconsin approved reforms this week meant to respond to a ProPublica report on the flawed investigation into the 2019 death of a Nicaraguan boy on a dairy farm….It’s unknown how many provide …
Wisconsin’s dairy industry relies on undocumented immigrants, but the state won’t let them legally drive
Undocumented immigrants in the state can own and register their vehicles, but they aren’t allowed to drive them, forcing many farm workers to risk fines and arrest. Determining how many of Wisconsin’s dairy workers are …
FY24 department chair announcement
For the new fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), the School for Workers department has elected Professor Don Taylor and Associate Professor Alexia Kulwiec to serve as co-chairs. Together, the co-chairs will oversee departmental …
School for Workers releases new Dairy Workers Study
Wisconsin dairy workers face unique hardships caused by this industry’s year-round work demands, danger in its occupations, placement of farms in mostly rural and isolated regions, and its dependence on a racialized, predominantly Latin American immigrant and mostly unauthorized workforce.
School for Workers partnered with Legal Action of Wisconsin Farmworker Project to identify this population’s key priorities, strengths, and needs and to provide recommendations on how the Farmworker Project could better support dairy farmworker communities.