Workers who feed us deserve equal protections MANHATTAN — CSEA delegates unanimously passed a resolution supporting the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act at the 104th Annual Delegates Meeting. The measure will ensure that farmworkers have the same rights as other workers in New York state. Its provisions will close an inexcusable gap in fundamental labor protections necessary for a strong work force in the farm industry. “Especially during the holidays, we are reminded of the workers who make it possible for us to have food on our tables,” said CSEA President Danny Donohue. “It is shameful and unconscionable that they do not have the right to a day of rest, to overtime pay, to organize and bargain collectively, and other labor rights that other workers take for granted.” Farmworkers are excluded from key labor protections under federal and state law. While the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act protect workers’ rights to overtime pay and to collective bargaining, both laws have specific exemptions for farmworkers. The New York State Constitution unequivocally states that all employees shall have the right to organize and bargain. But unlike federal laws, New York State law excludes farmworkers from this protection and other fundamental labor protections. In New York, there are an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 migrant, seasonal and dairy workers. The bill will simply codify existing practices and will actually help small farms by establishing basic safety and welfare protections enjoyed by other New York workers. More than two-thirds of New York farms do not hire workers; only 30 percent of farms in New York hire or contract for farm labor. Small farms by definition hire fewer workers, meaning that the cost of recognizing farmworkers’ labor rights will mostly affect larger farms with larger payrolls. With record farm income and skyrocketing demand for New York dairy, now is the time to guarantee agricultural stability by strengthening the work force. The New York Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act is essential in ensuring that this happens. U.S. farms earned a record net income of nearly $98 billion in 2011. This means farm income has jumped close to 30 percent in each of the past two years. Not only are prices high in this banner year for farm income, so is production. This $4.7 billion industry in New York is expanding, but most farmworkers are not reaping the benefits. Julie C. Suarez, director of public policy for the New York Farm Bureau, told The New York Times that “the growth in dairy manufacturing, particularly in the Greek yogurt category (now the official state snack), has really been a fantastic boon for New York dairy farmers.” In other areas, local farmers are capitalizing on the growing consumer trend to eat produce grown within a day’s drive of the dinner table. New York has perpetuated the exclusion of farmworkers from labor rights, while generously supporting the agricultural industry with tax breaks and subsidies. — David Galarza For more information and to support this important campaign please visit: www.ruralmigrantministry.org November 2014 The Work Force 5
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