Early in his life, Jesus Salas and his brothers spent a decade working a migrant worker and eventually settled in Wautoma, Wisconsin. In 1966, at just 22 years-old, Jesus co-founded the farmworkers union Oberos Unidos, which went on to improve working conditions and raise awareness to labor issues on Wisconsin farms. His new memoir Obreros Unidos: The Roots and Legacy of the Farmworkers Union gives an inside look at the farmworkers movement from the migrant labor of his youth to the Wisconsin Latino community.

He joins Douglas Haynes on A Public Affair this Labor Day to talk about the book and the power of wholistic organizing.

Jesus will be in Madison for a Wisconsin Book Festival event on September 20th at 6pm. You can learn more here.

Jesus Salas cofounded Obreros Unidos and was the first Latin CEO of United Migrant Opportunity Services. He taught bilingual courses at Milwaukee Area Technical College for two decades and was a lecturer at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. Salas lives in Milwaukee, where he continues to be active in Latino community organizations.

Image from Wisconsin Historical Society, David Giffey, Farm Worker Gives Oath, 91325. Viewed online at wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM91325

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