{"id":218241,"date":"2021-06-26T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-26T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inthesetimes.com\/article\/farmworkers-eight-hour-day-overtime-pay-labor-laws-washington-colorado-oregon"},"modified":"2021-06-26T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-26T14:00:00","slug":"for-farmworkers-the-fight-for-the-8-hour-day-isnt-over-federal-labor-laws-exclude-farmworkers-from-overtime-pay-and-other-protections-after-years-of-advocacy-by-farm-labor-groups-lawmake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/06\/26\/for-farmworkers-the-fight-for-the-8-hour-day-isnt-over-federal-labor-laws-exclude-farmworkers-from-overtime-pay-and-other-protections-after-years-of-advocacy-by-farm-labor-groups-lawmake\/","title":{"rendered":"For Farmworkers, the Fight for the 8-Hour Day Isn\u2019t Over – Federal labor laws exclude farmworkers from overtime pay and other protections. After years of advocacy by farm labor groups, lawmakers in Oregon, Washington and Colorado are working to change that."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\t\t\t
Editor\u2019s Note: This article was originally published<\/a> by <\/em>Stateline, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts.<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Oregon state Rep. Ricki Ruiz grew up the son of two farmworkers, and he remembers his family\u2019s struggles vividly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe almost faced eviction five times because we didn't have enough money for rent,\u201d said Ruiz, a first-term Democrat. \u201cWe didn't go to the grocery store; we went to the food bank. We didn\u2019t have extra clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n Ruiz hopes to change that situation for farmworkers in Oregon. He sponsored a bill that will mandate that farmworkers be paid overtime for any work beyond 40 hours a week.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this legislation was passed when I was a kid, we would have had less stress in our family and my parents wouldn't have had to work 80 hours a week,\u201d he said. \u201cThis will be life-changing for farmworkers. They will be able to make a living wage and support their families.\u201d<\/p>\n The effort in Oregon follows bills passed earlier this year in Washington and Colorado to grant overtime pay to farmworkers. Lawmakers in Maine are considering a similar measure.<\/p>\n Currently, federal and most state laws exempt farmworkers from the overtime protections guaranteed to most other workers. Labor advocates say that precedent was set by the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, which was written to exclude Black field workers in order to win the support of Southern Democrats. Today, 83% of the nation\u2019s farmworkers are Hispanic, according to the U.S. Department of Labor\u2019s National Agricultural Workers Survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe exclusion of farmworkers was rooted in racism and made possible \nby the feeling that it wasn't necessary to protect African Americans,\u201d \nsaid Bruce Goldstein, president of Farmworker Justice, a Washington, \nD.C.-based advocacy and support group. \u201cIt's hard to believe that the \nexclusions of farmworkers from overtime pay and labor rights would \ncontinue if the majority of farmworkers were Caucasian.\u201d<\/p>\n Nearly half of all U.S. farmworkers lack legal status, according to \nthe U.S. Department of Agriculture. Just more than a quarter of \nfarmworkers are U.S.-born, according to the agency's numbers. The \nEconomic Policy Institute, a left-leaning research think tank based in \nWashington, D.C., estimates about 10% are foreign workers in the United \nStates on H-2A temporary visas. The average farm wage was $13.99 an hour\n as of 2019, roughly 60% of the average non-farm wage.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Some lawmakers interviewed by Stateline<\/em> said the overtime bills they sponsored would apply to workers on H-2A visas, while others said theirs would not. The disparate rules in federal and state laws show the need for federal action, farmworker activists say. Some lawmakers also have proposed whistleblower protections because undocumented workers are unlikely to report wage theft if they fear retaliation.<\/p>\n Edgar Franks, a labor leader who picks raspberries and blueberries in Washington state, said overtime protections would not only boost wages, but also would keep families together. Last year brought renewed attention to racial justice and the frontline workers who face health risks in order to provide essential services. In several states, that spotlight led to the recognition of the plight of farmworkers, who advocates say are among the most vulnerable groups in the country. Lawmakers\u2019 push to end inequities in overtime law has drawn support from President Joe Biden. But they\u2019re up against the politically powerful agriculture industry, which asserts that new wage requirements would devastate farmers.<\/p>\n \u201cIncremental change for farmworkers, who are the most devalued human lives in our country, has always been an uphill battle,\u201d said Elizabeth Strater, director of strategic campaigns with United Farm Workers, the labor union founded by Cesar Chavez and other organizers. \u201cBut no industry should feel entitled to use up a human body at a rate it's not meant to endure.\u201d<\/p>\n Agriculture industry groups say that farmers operate on thin margins, and they compete against other states and countries that grow the same products with less labor costs. They also note that farm work is seasonal and requires immense amounts of work during harvest and planting times, which they believe is grounds for the longstanding farm work overtime exemption.<\/p>\n \u201cOvertime requirements, especially a blanket, standardized mandate when there is nothing standard about farm work, would make it increasingly difficult for farmers to remain competitive, leading to small farms going out of business,\u201d wrote Allison Crittenden, congressional relations director at the American Farm Bureau Federation, in a statement provided after a Stateline<\/em> request for an interview.<\/p>\n Washington\u2019s Law<\/strong><\/p>\n Earlier this year, Washington state lawmakers passed a bill that will grant farmworkers time-and-a-half overtime pay, phasing in a 40-hour threshold by 2024. The new law was a response to a state Supreme Court ruling in 2020 that required dairy workers to be paid overtime. <\/p>\n \u201cThe deep-seated bias in agriculture is that labor needs to be as close to slavery as you can get it,\u201d said Rosalinda Guillen, an activist with Community to Community Development, a Washington-based organization that focuses on food sovereignty<\/a> and immigrant rights issues. \u201cThe court recognized the racist structure of the agriculture industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Agribusiness groups expected the court to rule similarly for other farmworkers, and they feared farmers would be required to pay workers retroactively for overtime worked in years past. The result was a bill that established overtime pay while protecting farmers from retroactive claims. It was a long-awaited win for farmworkers and progressive activists, supported\u2014albeit begrudgingly\u2014by the agriculture industry and its Republican allies.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u201cKnowing that the court was very likely to impose this on us, we were open to a discussion on this being legislatively applied, as long as it was not done overnight,\u201d said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.<\/p>\n Washington state Sen. Curtis King, the Republican who sponsored the overtime bill, said he did so to protect farm owners from retroactive payments, though he disagreed that the previous state law, passed in 1959, was evidence of systemic racism.<\/p>\n Despite sponsoring the bill, King still fears the overtime requirement could make it difficult for Washington farmers to compete with producers from other states or overseas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can sit here all day long and say the going wage ought to be such and such for farmworkers,\u201d he said. \u201cYou go try and pay it and stay in business and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Movement Elsewhere<\/strong><\/p>\n At present, only six states\u2014California, Hawaii, Maryland, New York, Minnesota and now Washington\u2014offer any overtime coverage for farmworkers. Some of those states offer overtime only after 60 hours; California will phase in a 40-hour threshold by 2022.<\/p>\n Even though Washington\u2019s law was forced by a court decision, farmworker advocates say it has renewed momentum for efforts in other states. Earlier this week, Colorado lawmakers passed the Farmworker Bill of Rights, which will give minimum wage and overtime rights to the state\u2019s farmworkers. The measure also will allow workers to join labor unions, mandate rest and eating breaks, and offer whistleblower protections to workers who report unsafe conditions.
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\n\u201cA lot of us grew up with our parents at work all day and our older family members taking care of us,\u201d said Franks, political director for Familias Unidas por la Justicia, a farmworker union.<\/p>\n
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\n\u201cThe rights this bill will restore to these workers are rights that are enjoyed by almost every other worker in the state,\u201d said Colorado state Sen. Jessie Danielson, the Democrat who sponsored the bill.<\/p>\n