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Committee Votes 'No' On Labor Bill

ALBANY —Farmers from across New York applauded the Senate Agriculture Committee’s “No” vote on the Omnibus Farmworker Labor bill that would have cost the state’s struggling family farmers millions of dollars. This bill would have placed family farms squarely in the crosshairs of big money corporate unions seeking to increase their membership by driving agriculture out of the state.

"Albany made the right decision today for the future of farming and the upstate rural economy," said Dean Norton, president of New York Farm Bureau. "Had this bill gone through, it would have seriously damaged the ability of our local farms to produce local food for local people."

Few issues have galvanized the farming community more than the recent debate over the labor bill. Groups supporting the bill slandered farm families in the press and spread disheartening rhetoric and misinformation at every public opportunity.

New York Farm Bureau was at the forefront of a furious grassroots lobbying effort to defeat the bill and to educate the public, countering defaming rhetoric of the self appointed advocacy groups that included well-funded big labor groups from New York City.

In March, dozens of farmers testified at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, urging legislators to defeat the Omnibus Farmworker Labor bill. Following the hearing, farmers hosted a rally on the Capitol steps. The theme of the rally was“Don’t plow us under!”

The Farmworker legislation would have driven up costs and labor regulations to a level that would rank New York second only to California, a state with a much a larger agriculture industry, better growing degree days and significantly larger farms.

New York already is a high cost labor state, recognizing that workers are valuable and critical to the farm’s success. For every $100 in food produced, New York farmers paid $13.82 to farm workers on average – compared to the national average of $8.88.

“Further increasing labor costs through a bill that does not recognize our dependence on the weather is ludicrous,” said Norton. “We can’t turn our farms into factories, and this bill sought to make farming the same as manufacturing a widget.”

“Today’s vote follows a careful and thorough deliberation by the Senate Ag Committee and their conclusion was clear— we are already paying employees a good wage, or just like any other employee they would choose to leave and find alternative employment,” Norton said.“We will continue to compensate and treat employees fairly, because it is the right thing to do.”

“No farmer has ever asked for an exemption from basic laws concerning civil rights or basic justice – farm employees have the same rights to workplace safety and treatment as all other workers,” added Norton.

Norton commended the leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Chairman Darrel Aubertine and Ranking Minority Member Catherine Young, for their consistent commitment to New York’s farm community and knowledge of the issue.

“Certainly the vote today was indicative, for once, of the support in Albany for our farm families, and it is heartening to see support for local farms coming from Albany leadership on the Senate Agriculture Committee,” said Norton.