Governor is supporting farmworkers right to unionize
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
The New York Farm Bureau released a statement expressing its disapproval of Governor Cuomo’s decision to support the New York Civil Liberties Union’s (NYCLU) lawsuit against the state demanding farmworkers are able to unionize.
“We are extremely disappointed to hear the Governor’s Administration supports the NYCLU lawsuit regarding collective bargaining rights for farmworkers,” Dean Norton, New York Farm Bureau President said in a release. “Following on the recently enacted $15 minimum wage increase, the Governor’s decision to not defend the state’s labor law is an affront to agriculture and good farmers across the state.”
The statement points out that other employee classes aren’t able to collectively bargain, and call the Governor’s position a “disservice to farmers that make up the backbone of (New York’s) rural economy.”
In his statement, Governor Cuomo called the notion that farmworkers aren’t afforded the right to organize “unacceptable, and appears to violate the New York State Constitution.”
“We will not tolerate the abuse or exploitation of farmers in any industry. This clear and undeniable injustice must be corrected.”
NYCLU says it filed the lawsuit on behalf of a farmworker named Crispin Hernandez, who was fired from Marks Farms in Lowville after his employer found him discussing work conditions after hours and in a personal residence.