Farmworkers in New York State work long hours, often in harsh weather,
so that the rest of us can enjoy fruits and vegetables at our meals.
Many earn less than $10,000 a year and must live far from home in
substandard housing where they cannot store food safely, prepare a
warm meal, or even shower after a long day of working in the fields.
Nationwide, some 300,000 are injured by pesticides each year, and of
these as many as 1,000 die.
Since the 1930s, New York farmworkers have been excluded from most of the protections
that other workers take for granted. The Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act
aims to correct that. It would guarantee farmworkers in New York (1) a day of
rest each week; (2) disability insurance; (3) overtime pay; and (4) the right
to bargain collectively.
Last year, farmworker Salvador Solis walked 180 miles from Seneca Falls to Albany
to call attention to the need for farmworker rights. He says, "We are made of
flesh and blood, just like everyone else. We work hard. We have families. We
have dreams of a better future. We deserve to have a day of rest, to be paid
overtime, and to join a union if we choose--just like everyone else."
The Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act (S. 3351) has passed the NYS Assembly,
but now it is languishing in a NYS Senate committee. Urge your New York State
Senator to work for passage of S. 3351.
Visit http://www.senate.state.ny.us/ and use your zip code to find the senator
who represents you and to send a message to that senator.
