MIDDLETOWN (New York) TIMES HERALD-RECORD

January 30, 2010

Fate of New York farm bill uncertain

Day of rest, OT would be guaranteed

By  Chris Mckenna

Times Herald-Record

The latest push to grant new labor rights to migrant farmworkers in the Hudson Valley and across New York has advanced in the state Senate but landed in a committee where its prospects are murky.

Long championed by farmworker advocacy groups and unions, and fought just as fiercely by farmers, the farm labor bill has always passed in the overwhelmingly Democratic Assembly and died in the Senate, which Republicans controlled until last year.

The 32-30 seat majority Democrats won in 2008 gave advocates new hope. Scaled back slightly to appease farmers, their proposal cleared two Senate committees this month but went to a third in which opponents appear to hold the edge.

Supporters say the bill would erase a longstanding double standard by giving New York's farm laborers rights many other workers enjoy, including the ability to join a union, a guaranteed day of rest each week and mandatory overtime pay.

"These are basic, fundamental rights that people should be able to have in the workplace," said state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, who voted for the Assembly's version of the bill last year.

But opponents say such rules could cripple New York's fragile agriculture industry, at a time when the economy can least afford it. They also argue that advocates are ignoring the unique dynamics of farming and even the best interests of the workers themselves.

"We look at this issue as our ability to actually stay in business in what is already one of the most expensive states," said Julie Suarez, director of public policy for the New York Farm Bureau.

The bill's progress in Albany has alarmed local growers and prompted Orange County Executive Ed Diana to denounce the bill as a "war on the very farmers who provide us sustenance and the jobs that are so desperately needed." The Orange County Legislature is expected to follow suit with its own resolution next week.

Two Democrats on the Senate committee now reviewing the bill say they oppose it, a bad sign for supporters. The chairman, Democrat Darrel Aubertine, is against it but promises to hold a hearing within six weeks.

How the bill would fare in the full Senate is unpredictable. In general, Democrats favor it and Republicans oppose it, but members of both sides cross party lines on the issue.