Background
When the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed as a part of the New Deal in 1938, domestic and farm laborers were excluded from its protections as a concession to Southern Democrats who, informed by racism and protectionism, were increasingly shifting towards voting more in line with Republicans in Congress.
It wasn’t until 1983 that farm workers started to see some national protection with the 1983 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. More recently, states have started to afford some additional protections, and in 2019, NY enacted a mandatory rest day, overtime pay over 60 hours per week, and the right to organize, among other protections.
Now
Farm labor is physically taxing, seemingly non-stop, and it doesn’t allow for breaks due to inclement weather. As farmers ourselves, we understand this very well. There is absolutely no reason that farm workers deserve less overtime protections than other workers in New York. The NY Farm Labor Wage board recently held a number of open hearings to decide whether to lower the threshold for farm workers to 40 hours in line with the rest of the workforce.
Action
While the labor board voted in favor of slowly phasing in a fair and equitable 40 hour overtime threshold for Farm Workers in the state, the proposal still has to be approved, and conservative forces across the state are rallying anti-labor sentiment. Please reach out to Governor Hochul and NYS DOL Commissioner Roberta Reardon to let them know that you SUPPORT the resolution to change the overtime threshold:
https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form
https://dol.ny.gov/contact-department-labor-1
https://twitter.com/nysdolcommish
https://twitter.com/GovKathyHochul
Here is a template you can copy/paste/edit if you like:
Greetings Governor Hochul / Commissioner Reardon,
I am a New York State Resident who strongly believes in labor equity and fair wages, and I am reaching out to let you know that I unequivocally support the Wage Board’s proposal to decrease the overtime threshold for farm workers in the state to 40 hours, in line with the protection afforded to the rest of the labor force. Thank you for your consideration.
Regards,
NAME HERE