COLORADO LEGAL SERVICES
Location: Denver, CO
Project Name: The Sheepherder Education and Outreach Project
Project goals:
- Perform specialized outreach to sheepherders located in seven counties in Colorado
- Develop know-your-rights materials
- Provide access to legal services to enforce their labor rights
Project abstract:
This one-year grant will build on the Migrant DivisionŐs thirty-five years of education and outreach to migrant farm workers to bring focused attention on the plight of sheepherders in Colorado. Each year, Colorado ranchers bring hundreds of immigrant workers from foreign countries on a temporary H-2A visa to work as sheepherders. Such workers are among the most exploited and abused of all farm workers, yet they are largely unable to enforce their labor rights. Because sheepherders are geographically isolated from the vast majority of migrant farm workers in Colorado, they are not the focus of the few organizations that do assist migrant farm workers. The invisibility of sheepherders belies the very need for this project.
With PILF funding, the Migrant Division will develop know-your-rights materials and perform specialized outreach to sheepherders located in seven counties in Colorado. We will also train and collaborate with other agencies and organizations to assist such herders. Through out education and outreach efforts, we will gather information about the working conditions of sheepherders and identify current issues. We will seek justice for sheepherders by providing access to legal services to enforce their labor rights, with the long-term goal of eradicating the abuse and exploitation of sheepherders in Colorado.
Website: www.coloradolegalservices.org