New York farm workers union rights under threat

By Blake Jackson

New York farmers are suing the state to prevent them from giving collective bargaining rights to foreign farm workers. The farmers argue that the state law would conflict with federal regulations for the H-2A visa program.

The New York Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, which was passed in 2019, made New York one of the few states that protect farm workers' right to organize. The law is currently being interpreted to determine whether it applies to foreign farm workers and whether unions can represent workers who are no longer employed by the farm when the union is certified.

The New York Farm Bureau and other agricultural groups have argued that the law should not apply to H-2A workers, while the state AFL-CIO and United Farm Workers of America say it should.

The United Farm Workers says that the H-2A program is plagued by labor abuses and that workers are reluctant to speak out because they depend on the farm for work and their ability to remain in the U.S. The group has asked the federal government to require that farms seeking to hire H-2A workers have a collective bargaining agreement with a union, but this request has been ignored.

The outcome of the lawsuit could have a significant impact on the rights of farm workers in New York and other states. If the farmers are successful, it could set a precedent for other states to restrict the rights of farm workers to organize.

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