Dispatch from Postville

The day starts like any other in Postville, a town in northern Iowa. Years ago, a slaughterhouse and processing plant for beef, turkey and chicken had opened. Its name: Agriprocessors. The typical routine for any worker of the sort that was employed there was to start by getting up at whatever hour...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Herrera, Elver, Cooley, Jennifer, Translator
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: UNI ScholarWorks 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scholarworks.uni.edu/universitas/vol13/iss1/7
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/context/universitas/article/1217/viewcontent/07_herrera_dispatch_forum_immigration_vol13_2017_2018.pdf
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Summary:The day starts like any other in Postville, a town in northern Iowa. Years ago, a slaughterhouse and processing plant for beef, turkey and chicken had opened. Its name: Agriprocessors. The typical routine for any worker of the sort that was employed there was to start by getting up at whatever hour their shift demanded. In 1996, when I first began, there were only two: the daily production line, and the nightly cleaning. Working there was like being in a concentration camp; you readers will soon begin to discover why. Essentially, “illegals” don’t have many job opportunities because they fear detention, arrest and deportation.