March 9, 2004
Measure protects migrant workers Migrant farm workers could be in line for improved working and living conditions while labor contractors would face increased penalties if they abuse seasonal workers under legislation Gov. Jeb Bush backed Monday. Similar legislation last year failed to even get out of committee, but Bush said his rationale for supporting the current proposal was not election-year motivated. "It's the right thing to do," he said, surrounded by Consul General of Mexico Jorge Lomonaco, Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, agency heads and lawmakers. Bush said he hopes the new proposal (HB 1307) will make life better for migrants, who routinely have been exploited by some farm owners and labor contractors. It has provisions allowing for easier reporting by workers of violations or abuses, plus expands pesticide-awareness provisions. The legislation would increase penalties for violating farm-labor law from $1,000 to $2,500 in some instances and seeks to expand enforcement of existing state and federal laws. However, the director of the Tallahassee-based Migrant Farm Worker Project said the proposed legislation doesn't go far enough. "Every time there is a big expose we tinker with this law a little bit," said Rob Williams, specifically citing recent articles by The Miami Herald and The Palm Beach Post as ones featuring the plight of many migrant workers. "We never look to the source," Williams said. "We never ask the questions, 'what is the growers' responsibility?' ... We've tried this approach for 30 years." Williams did, though, call the new legislation "a starting point." Agriculture, which pumps $60 billion into the state's economy annually, is Florida's second-largest industry, behind tourism. "It is critical that we do what is necessary to ... defend the rights of migrant workers and farmers and shield them from the actions of unethical labor contractors," said the bill's House sponsor, Rep. Ralph Poppell, R-Titusville. About 100,000 of the estimated 300,000 farm workers in Florida are migrant, and advocates have long rallied in support of enhancing their work conditions. |