Farm labor bill gets Albany hearing

A controversial bill on extending the rights of farm laborers will be the subject of a March 1 hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee, its chairman Darrel J. Aubertine said Thursday.

"We need to better assess the impact of this bill and be sure that we have the facts regarding how this bill will affect our economy, our farm workers and our family farms," said Mr. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, in a statement. "We've lost more than a farm a day in New York State over the past 30 years and there's no question that we cannot afford to lose another industry, especially agriculture, which is a cornerstone of our economy.”

The hearing will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Hearing Room A, Legislative Office Building.

The bill's aim is to provide overtime pay, rest days, collective bargaining and unemployment benefits to farm laborers. Mr. Aubertine and other opponents, including the New York Farm Bureau, have argued that those regulations would force farmers to cut jobs, limit employees' hours or close their farms.

Mr. Aubertine successfully appealed to Senate Temporary President Malcolm Smith to have the bill sent to the Agriculture Committee, even though that request was first denied by Senate Labor Chairman George D. Onorato, D-Brooklyn. The bill passed the Labor Committee, 9-3, with four voting 'aye without recommendation.'