News from New York Farm Bureau

Contact: Julie Suarez, 518-431-5607, or Peter Gregg, 518-724-0867

 farmers brace for “Attack
of the Farmworker Advocates”

So-called “Advocacy” Groups Vilify Farmers
and Put Out Misinformation

ALBANY  -- Members of New York Farm Bureau were preparing this week for the annual “Attack of the ‘Farmworker Advocates,’” when groups of college students and others come out to falsely accuse farmers of mistreatment of farm labor.

“We’re sick and tired of being vilified by these groups,” Lincoln said.

“Every year, so-called advocacy groups try to manipulate the public and the press into accepting the myth that farmers do not pay or treat their workers well,” said John Lincoln, a Bloomfield, N.Y. dairy farmer and president of the 36,000-member Farm Bureau. “The truth is our employees are paid and treated fairly, which is why they happily continue to work on our farms year after year.”

“The protesters love to schedule marches in the spring, when our members are too busy in the fields preparing for the growing season to defend ourselves,” Lincoln said.

Many of the “farmworkers” who appear year after year for springtime marches and rallies are no longer involved in working on farms. 

In 2002, farmworker advocacy groups were found by the New York State Lobby Commission to have been paying “farm workers” $40 a day to attend the protest rallies.  These groups were fined by the Lobby Commission for failure to register as lobbyists and to disclose their lobbying expenses. 

 “The facts are that farmers pay migrant labor a fair and decent legal wage,” Lincoln said. “Our farmers also provide their migrant employees housing and transportation and strictly follow the many labor laws of this state and nation that apply to farm labor.  Anyone saying otherwise simply does not know the facts.” 

The facts of farm employment in New York are as follows:

• Federal law strictly regulates migrant employment through the Migrant and Seasonal Protection Act
• State and Federal law regulates wage payment, housing and transportation conditions for seasonal and year-round farm workers
• State enforcement of  federal law requires strict adherence to safety standards for agricultural employees for the application of pesticides
• Farmers are required to sign work agreements with employees that set forth the wages, benefits, and working hours
• The National Agricultural Statistical Services latest quarterly survey in 2005 found that farmworkers worked an average of 36.6 hours per week
• That same survey identified wage rates for field workers as $9.47 an hour, and for livestock workers as $9.17 an hour 
• Strict enforcement of federal child labor laws on farms; one violation of a child labor law could result in as much as a $60,000 fine 

The truth about state labor law as it applies to migrant labor:

• Many decades ago the federal government recognized that farm labor needs were different and unique to the modern production of food – necessary to keep society able to work in cities, manufacturing, and other concerns
• New York State law closely models the federal employment exemptions for agriculture, recognizing that much of agricultural work is seasonal and during the planting and harvest season a 9-to-5 day may not be possible
• New York requires the payment of workers’ compensation to farm employees

The facts about what farmworkers in New York actually want:

An independent research study was conducted of current and former farm workers in New York State by Cornell University’s Department of Sociology.  This survey demonstrated that:

• 90 percent of farmworkers when asked what their major needs were identified learning English as the top priority
• 50 percent desired education and/or job training
• 45 percent wanted access to housing
• 30 percent wanted to learn more about U.S. culture
• Only 3 percent identified improvement in workplace conditions as a major need

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New York Farm Bureau is the statewide lobbying/trade organization that represents over 36,000 member families.  Its members and the public know the organization as “The Voice of New York Agriculture.”  New York Farm Bureau is dedicated to solving the economic and public policy issues challenging the agricultural community.

 Agricultural Labor Fact Sheet 

Farmworker Benefits in New York State

Farm employees, especially migratory and seasonal workers, are in high demand on New York’s farms.  Farmers work in partnership with their employees – without good farm employees, the farm would fail.  Conversely, without strong and profitable farms, the employees will no longer have a place to work. Farm employees are attracted to this state because of our farmers’ commitment to a quality work environment.  The state and federal governments have provided significant resources to meet the real needs of farm employees.  The state spends over $4 million a year on the Agri-Business Child Care Development Center Program, which has 13 Head Start child care centers throughout the state for the children of migrant farm employees.  The state Legislature has also committed funding beyond federal resources to ensure that migrant farm workers have access to health care.  Both the state and federal governments provide low interest loans for the construction and improvement of farm worker housing, a critical benefit to seasonal and many year round employees.  New York Farm Bureau is now seeking to open the farmworker housing loan fund to year round employees, recognizing that the changing demographic of farmworker employees necessitates the provision of housing for full-time, permanent workers as well. 

Minimum Wage

Under New York’s Minimum Wage Act there are 6 existing minimum wage orders that establish various standards specific to each industry, such as farm workers, restaurant workers, hotel workers, building service workers, and non profit institutions.  As a result of legislation enacted in 1999, the farm worker and the state minimum wage rate were permanently linked to the federal minimum wage rate at $5.15 per hour.  Many seasonal workers are paid on a piece rate basis – by the amount of fruit picked per day.  This is acceptable to the federal and state Departments of Labor as long as the worker receives the equivalent of the minimum wage, and many farmworkers prefer this as it allows them to make significantly higher per hour wage rates.  The 2003 quarterly National Agricultural Statistical Service’s survey indicated that farmworkers in the Northeast region received an average per hour wage of  $10.02 for field workers and $8.36 for livestock workers, and worked an average work week of 37.3 hours.  New York’s minimum wage is set to increase beyond the federal rate to $7.15 in the next year and a half. 

Whistleblower Laws

Farm employees enjoy the same state whistleblowing protections as every other employee in this state.  Private employers in this state, including farmers, are prohibited from discharging or taking any disciplinary action against employees who testify, or threaten to disclose to an enforcement agency or public body (including the state Legislature), an activity of an employer that violates a law, rule or regulation and presents a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.  New York Farm Bureau has, and will continue, to encourage farmworkers who claim to be working in illegal or unsafe conditions to contact the Department of Labor’s hotline trabajo for farm employees at 1(800) 848-4949.  Both Spanish and English speaking staff are available to investigate complaints.

Workers Compensation

Farmers are required to pay workers’ compensation if their yearly payroll is in excess of $1,200.  Workers Compensation covers all on the job injuries.  This has the effect of requiring most farmers, except those who utilize only family labor, to pay workers’ compensation for their employees. 

Farm Work Agreement

The Department of Labor requires that prior to the start of employment, farmers must disclose to potential employees the expected working conditions through a Farm Work Agreement.  Farmers must specify the type of work to be performed, the hours of a standard work day and work week, the rate of pay and the period of employment, and must describe benefits, including housing, and transportation to health and/or child care facilities.  Farmers must also disclose the name of the workers’ compensation carrier, and whether or not unemployment compensation insurance is provided.  Both farmers and farmworkers are required to sign this agreement, and the farmer must keep it on file.

Unemployment Insurance

Farmers must provide unemployment insurance if they have a payroll of $20,000 or more in any calendar quarter, if the farmer employed 10 or more persons on at least one day in each of the 20 different weeks during a calendar year or the preceding calendar year, or if they are liable under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.  Fruit and vegetable farms tend to employ large amounts of people for a short amount of time.  The threshold, originally established at the federal level, exists largely because of the seasonal and transitory nature of our labor force.  Migrant farmworkers who follow the harvest season are going to employment in other states, and will not stay in New York collecting unemployment insurance.

Disability Insurance

New York is one of only six states that require disability insurance, which covers injuries that occur outside of the workplace and during non-working hours.  Agricultural employers, as well as other seasonal employers (not to exceed 45 days of employment) and the State of New York are exempted from paying disability insurance, although some agricultural employers can and do elect to offer disability coverage as a workplace incentive.

Day of Rest

Seasonal farmworkers come to this country to work on our farms to support their families year round.  Days of rest occur naturally on a farm due to poor weather conditions, equipment breakdowns, and other factors outside of the farm’s control.  During the harvest season, which is the busiest time on a farm, workers and farmers do work long hours, just as the Legislature and staff do during the budget cycle.  The agricultural industry’s need for workers at this time is similar to that of other small businesses.  Cows need to be milked every day, including Sundays and holidays.  A mandatory one-day of rest out of every seven days is simply unworkable given the unique nature of the industry. 

Worker Protection Standards

Farmers are subjected to very strict worker protection standards to ensure that farmworkers and farmers in this state are not improperly exposed to pesticides.  The Department of Environmental Conservation is charged with enforcing this law, and has targeted several enforcement “sweeps” in recent years.  The vast majority of growers were found to be in compliance with these strict standards–which require posted signs with re-entry intervals, separate storage and record keeping, farmworker training, and mandatory safety equipment.

Collective Bargaining

A strike in the middle of a harvest would put a farmer out of business in an instant.  While farmworkers in this state are not technically allowed to formally collective bargain, frequently the farmworkers will negotiate with the individual farms before agreeing to work.  Again, labor markets are so tight that farmworkers assuredly have the upper hand in agreeing to work on a farm.  Farms in this state are not like those in California – our growing season is shorter, and our need for timely labor more critical.