The American Dairy Coalition sent out notice yesterday to dairy industry members via social media about today’s “Day without Immigrants” National Labor Strike, but it’s still unclear how much rural America will be impacted today.
In addition to the dairy industry, the strike is anticipated to stretch to other industries, including service and hospitality. Immigrant parents are being encouraged from some activist groups to keep their children home from school. Strikers are told to stay home and not spend any money to increase the financial impact.
The American Dairy Coalition is at the table in negotiations surrounding several possible immigration reform bills, including the State Based Visa Program. This program would allow states to opt in to a federally approved program allowing them to sponsor a number of workers in their state to obtain visas. This program would provide a legal opportunity for workers, however stop short of providing citizenship.
The dairy industry isn’t the only agricultural sector that may be concerned today. From California vineyards to New York apple orchards, farmers have been raising some red flags about Trump’s illegal immigration plan for some time. There’s no doubt the immigrant workforce is intertwined in agriculture and at this time it is unclear what any long term implications could be.
AGDAILY will post updates on today’s strike as they become available.
