A time for caution
Last week, a state panel recommended that, for now, the state should stick to the 60-hour overtime threshold for farm workers.
That recommendation by the Farm Laborer Wage Board was the right one, given the economic crisis and other factors brought on by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This would be a perilous time to force significant change on the smaller farms that dominate agriculture in New York.
We say that reservedly. We have long argued that our food system is rooted in a fundamental unfairness of cheap labor with too few rights for farm workers, and we believe the arc must bend until they enjoy the same rights and benefits as other workers, including the 40-hour work week other New Yorkers now take for granted.
If the worker who sells food at the local supermarket receives overtime pay after 40 hours of work, among other benefits, why shouldn’t the person who grew the food be treated just as humanely? Granting benefits to one but not the other is unfair, inconsistent and contrary to democratic values.
The good news is that the Legisla
ture last year passed the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, landmark legislation that established new protections, including the right to collective bargaining, overtime pay and a day of rest. The milestone for workers' rights also established the wage board to study the rollout of overtime pay and to consider reducing the 60-hour threshold.
Farm advocates, including the New York Farm Bureau, say lowering the threshold will cut into farmers’ earnings and harm the viability of the many farms already struggling with tight profit margins. They also note that New York farms compete against farms from states with no such rules.
There is truth to that, which is why we have urged lawmakers and the state Department of Labor to advance changes with caution and an eye toward minimizing collateral damage. It does farm workers no good, obviously, if their employers cease to exist.
Nor would the harming of small farms be good for New York’s rural communities and New Yorkers who relish the economic, nutritional, scenic and environmental benefits of supporting local food. New York should want to grow its farm economy, not diminish it.
And the truth, no matter how much we might wish it to be otherwise, is that forcing farmers to move to a 40hour work week during a pandemic that has dramatically reshaped shopping habits, labor markets and other economic factors is too risky and could do more harm than good. If ever there was a time for caution, this is it.
The Farm Laborer Wage Board suggests lawmakers and state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon keep the 60-hour threshold for overtime in place, but revisit the decision no later than Dec. 15. That’s the right course of action.
But while the pandemic makes moving to a 40-hour overtime threshold too risky now, it can’t be an excuse to delay forever. The arc may be longer than we’d prefer, but it must bend toward justice for farmworkers nevertheless.