Published Sunday, May 2, 2004
Migrant Abuse Bill Dodges Bullet
A last-minute addition is removed to pass legislation on workers' rights.

By Bill Rufty
The Ledger

TALLAHASSEE -- A tough new bill protecting migrant farm workers was passed late Friday after Gov. Jeb Bush interceded and convinced the House to remove a special project that was slipped in at the last minute and could have killed the legislation.

The bill was "must pass" legislation for the governor and is largely the product of a man whose family's agricultural roots put him in close contact with farm workers -- Sen. J.D. Alexander.

Alexander was praised for his work on the bill that supporters said will improve the lives of from 200,000 to 300,000 migrant farm workers in Florida. The bill protects migrant laborers from unscrupulous labor contractors, requires that they receive clear information on pesticides in the fields and groves they work, and creates commissions to improve their safety and living conditions.

It also has tough penalties for labor contractors who cheat or mistreat farm workers.

For example, the contractors, who provide the migrant labor to farm and grove owners, must keep accurate daily records that reflect the hours each migrant works and the amount paid to each worker.

The bill prevents the labor contractor from taking retaliatory action against any person who has filed a labor complaint.

It also prohibits a farm-labor practice mentioned in John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath." That of a farm worker being forced to buy goods from the contractor or from an agent of the contractor.

To make certain the laborers are not being mistreated, the Florida Department of Agriculture will have four new enforcement officers to monitor the practices of labor contractors.

The bill also authorizes the Governor's Office to consult with migrant and seasonal workers and their employers on ways to improve living and working conditions.

In addition, it creates a new Legislative Commission on Migrant and Seasonal Labor to supervise and coordinate migrant labor programs geared to improve living conditions, health, housing and sanitation, labor laws, education, transportation safety and public assistance.

"This bill is significant in that it provides enforcement and help in protecting the most vulnerable segment of our population -- the farm workers," Alexander told the Senate during a debate earlier last week.

"This past summer many of us read in the Miami Herald about abuses that included near slave-like conditions. It is up to us to put a stop to this and to see that these workers are protected," he told colleagues.

As he left the Senate chambers after the bill was passed, fellow senators lined up to shake his hand.

"It was just the right thing to do," he said quietly.

And Alexander had a lot of help, Sen. Anthony Hill, D-Jacksonville, and the Democratic floor leader for the Senate made it a bipartisan effort.

"This was a truly bipartisan effort. J.D. took over, and he and Sen. Hill took this large step for the farm workers in our state," said Sen. Nancy Argenziano, RDunnellon, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Karen Woodall, the lobbyist for The Farm Workers Association of Florida and Farm Workers Self Help, praised the bipartisan effort and said that Alexander was not just carrying the governor's bill.

"He has been very supportive of migrant labor issues over the last several years. This time he went above and beyond the call of duty," she said.

Rep. Ralph Poppel, R-Vero Beach, carried the bill in the House. But it almost died in the lower chamber because of a strange bit of political maneuvering.

Rep. Marty Bowen, R-Haines City, who had not spoken to Speaker Johnnie Byrd since she voted against one of his bills two weeks ago, said she was given an amendment on the floor of the House from an aide to the speaker and told she would be offering it when the migrant bill came up.

The amendment, which was approved in the House under the leadership's orders, would have provided $950,000 for construction at the Future Farmers of America Conference Center outside of Haines City.

It is a project in both Alexander and Bowen's districts, which they want, but both agreed it could wait a year if it meant the migrant labor bill would not pass.

"When I told him this, it was like I wasn't even in the room anymore," Bowen recalled. "(Byrd) wouldn't even look at me."

For two days, Byrd refused to remove the amendment from the bill. Byrd is on the board of directors for the FFA.

Senate President Jim King became furious over the amendment and said the Senate would not accept it.

"To put in a $950,000 request that we have no idea for what or why in a budget that is already closed doesn't make a whole lot of sense to us, and it will not pass this way," he declared.

About 6 p.m. Friday, some six hours before the session ended, Bush went to Byrd and asked him to remove the amendment.

"Then I went over later and asked him," Alexander said. "And I appreciate him agreeing to this."

Shortly after 10 p.m. the House removed the amendment, passed the bill and sent it to a willing signer, the governor.

Bill Rufty can be reached at bill.rufty@theledger.com or 863-802-7523.