There's good news to share. One thing the organization should celebrate is the passage of meaningful pro-farmworker legislation on the last day of this year's legislative session. Because of all of the hard work by the SMFWS and other farmworker supporters, Florida's overwhelmingly Republican legislature passed the most far-reaching farmworker protective legislation in over 20 years. The legislation, named the "Alfredo Bahena Act" after an organizer with the Farmworker Association of Florida who was tragically killed this past April in an automobile accident, does a number of important things for farmworkers:
(1) It removes the discrimination against aliens in Florida's worker's compensation laws. Prior to the passage of the law, if a worker died on the job in Florida, his surviving family members were entitled to $150,000 in worker's compensation benefits unless the relatives lived outside the U.S. or Canada. Under the old law, workers whose families resided outside the U.S. or Canada were entitled to only $75,000 in worker's compensation benefits, half of what U.S-based workers received. The new legislation removes this provision so that henceforth, the death benefits will be the same for all workers, regardless of where their families live.
(2) The pesticide right-to-know law first proposed last session was adopted with only relatively minor changes. Farmworkers will now have a legal right to know the chemicals and pesticides being used at their workplace. In addition, farmworkers will be protected against retaliation from employers for exercising the right to know.
(3) The state law regulating farm labor contractors or "crewleaders" was strengthened. The penalties were stiffened for many violations and four new crew chief compliance positions were added.
I cannot overemphasize how remarkable it was to win passage of this legislation in the current political climate. It represents a huge victory for farmworkers, who succeeded where virtually no other progressive groups did during this legislative session.
Greg Schell
Migrant Farmworker Justice Project
Lake Worth, Florida