Plant to Table: Rose Godinez

"Through the Eyes of a Meatpacker's Daughter" Immigrants represent over 50% of Nebraska’s meatpacking workforce. At work, immigrant workers face unsafe working conditions while at home they face an immigration system threatening to tear their family apart. Godinez will relate the story of her families’ experience with and in the meatpacking industry. She will discuss how both the immigration process and the health and safety standards during the COVID-19 pandemic prompted advocacy across the state all the way to the nation’s capital. The advocacy opportunities do not stop there: Godinez will end her presentation with advocacy opportunities we can all undertake to support safe working meatpacking workers and their families. Godinez is Senior Legal and Policy Counsel for ACLU Nebraska. She was raised in Lexington and is the proud daughter of immigrants and former meatpacking plant workers. Godinez has been a strong advocate for workers’ rights and safety both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the 2023 Great Plains Conference.