Anti-farm bill

The New York State Legislature should heed the words of farmers and agricultural experts in Northern New York and around the state on the proposed Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act.

Those who spoke at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing in Watertown Thursday provided ample reason to defeat the bill, which would force inappropriate and harmful new work rules on an industry that is already struggling to make ends meet.

As New York Farm Bureau President Dean Norton pointed out, the bill's goals for farmworkers — overtime pay, mandatory days off, collective bargaining and workers' compensation — are appropriate for some industries, but not farming. "Farming is simply not a nine-to-five, and making food is not like making widgets," he said.

Thomas R. Maloney of Cornell University's economics and management department, explained that animal needs, weather conditions and crop production determine farm work schedules, that vary from day to day and season to season.

Paul Baker of the state Horticultural Association warned that the bill could cause farmers to rely less on workers and more on machines to harvest crops.

And Jefferson County agricultural coordinator Jay M. Matteson contended that the bill's provisions pose a threat to the local dairy farming industry that pumps millions of dollars into the economy.

State Sen. Darryl Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, who hosted the Watertown forum, also opposes the legislation. He pointed out in a column earlier this year that "most farm laborers are given wages above minimum wage plus housing, while many others have health insurance and other benefits the same or better than most small businesses."

He also wrote: "Simply enforcing New York state's rigorous wage, housing, safety, and worker abuse provisions, and punishing those who violate these laws will protect farm families, farm workers and our rural communities."

Let's hope New York legislators heed those arguments and withdraw this harmful measure.