MONROE — Several employees walked out Tuesday, Aug. 12 at W&W Dairy in a general strike. A large number of workers who had walked out that morning are of Hispanic origin. Later that day there was a rally around 4 p.m. During the rally, a delegation of four workers were sent in to negotiate terms with the company. The rally consisted of workers and supporting community members. 

“They organized the way that they felt would be good, and they actually convinced them to talk about it. So, that’s where we’re at now,” said Francis Henn, Economic Recovery Corps Fellow in Platteville that works with the Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

W&W Dairy was founded in 2005 and produces Hispanic-style cheese. The milk used in the cheese is locally sourced Wisconsin milk. Cheese is typically shipped within seven days of production. 

Workers had walked out due to new ownership of the company, Dairy Farmers of America, requiring E-Verification. E-Verification is a system online that allows employers to confirm that employees are eligible to work in the United States. This system is typically used for new employees, but the new ownership is requiring verification of all employees, even those who have been there 10-plus years.

Francis Henn said he is a private citizen and a “friend of the workers.” Henn helped organize the events of the day and helped gather the people there together.

“A friend of mine and the community just called over the weekend was like, ‘we’re having this kind of issue.’ I’m not professional, but we just talked and got some friends involved and tried to come up with a little bit of a grassy-roots game plan,” Henn said. “And we’re proud of them for getting together. The disagreement is they put their foot down and they requested a meeting that’s happening now.”

Attempts to reach W&W Dairy for comment went unanswered.