{"id":5061363,"date":"2023-01-13T12:44:04","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T12:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wilatinonews.com\/?p=5061363"},"modified":"2023-01-13T12:44:04","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T12:44:04","slug":"wiln-opinion-roberto-tecpile-mercedes-falk-and-john-rosenow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/wiln\/2023\/01\/13\/wiln-opinion-roberto-tecpile-mercedes-falk-and-john-rosenow\/","title":{"rendered":"WILN Opinion+:\u00a0Roberto Tecpile, Mercedes Falk and John Rosenow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welcome to another episode of Wisconsin Latino News Opinion+ where we talk about major issues the Latinx and other underrepresented communities face in the state of Wisconsin. This week\u2019s guests include three team members from the Fountain City-based organization Puentes\/Bridges: Director Roberto Tecpile, President Mercedes Falk and Co-founder John Rosenow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WILN Opinion+: John Rosenow, Mercedes Falk and Roberto Tecpile\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ecaVn2RwId8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like its name, this organization attempts to build bridges between farming communities and the people who immigrate to these rural areas of Wisconsin for work opportunities. Nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org\/sites\/default\/files\/infographics\/wisconsin_infographic_2018.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">six percent of Wisconsin\u2019s labor force are immigrants<\/a>, and a significant portion of this immigrant population goes into the farming industry. According to Rosenow\u2019s own accounts, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/special-reports\/dairy-crisis\/2019\/11\/12\/wisconsin-dairy-farms-rely-immigrant-workers-undocumented-laborers\/2570288001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel<\/a>, which included him and Tecpile, Latino immigrants are vital to Wisconsin\u2019s dairy industry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To no surprise, Latino immigrants face language barriers with their employers, often relying on hand gestures or their phones to translate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe desire to want to understand each other really helps a lot,\u201d said Falk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That desire prompted action. In 2001, a group of dairy farmers, including Rosenow, took a trip to Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico to visit a language school in the hopes of developing Spanish skills to better communicate with their staff. It was his idea to visit the workers\u2019 family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Rosenow was doubtful about the first trip, he soon realized the value in it when their visit brought out local Mexican media, who were astounded by their arrival. He was told that it was the first time they had ever seen U.S. employers visit their employees&#8217; hometown. After a few more pioneer trips, Puentes\/Bridges was incorporated two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was like a once-in-a-lifetime experience,\u201d said Rosenow, who will embark on his tenth international visit with Puentes this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEven though there is a separate language, there\u2019s so much that they have found in common and ways that they realize that they really connect with one another on a deeper level,\u201d said Falk.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The trips act as a cross-borders, immersive, team bonding experience. Tecpile says that he has learned a lot through his experiences with Puentes. Rosenow echoes this sentiment, sharing how Puentes has helped his relationships with his workers evolve.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve seen people die, I\u2019ve seen people get married, I\u2019ve seen people have children, I\u2019ve seen the children grow up, I\u2019ve seen the children come and work for me [as adults] after they were just little kids the first time I saw them,\u201d Rosenow said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s always been a family-type thing,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd now the families are just from a different country.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Resources mentioned in this video<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Puentes\/Bridges website<\/strong>: https:\/\/www.puentesbridges.org<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Puentes\/Bridges on Facebook: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/puentesbridges\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/puentesbridges<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Information on Workers Rights: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.puentesbridges.org\/resources\/worker-rights\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Derechos de los Trabajadores: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.puentesbridges.org\/recursos\/derechos-de-los-trabajadores\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Immigration System: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.puentesbridges.org\/resources\/immigration-system\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sistema de Immigraci\u00f3n:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.puentesbridges.org\/recursos\/sistema-de-inmigracion\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to another episode of Wisconsin Latino News Opinion+ where we talk about major issues the Latinx and other underrepresented [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5061366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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