Farm workers push for labor rights bill at Capitol
Dozens of farmworkers rallied on the steps of the New York State Capitol on Tuesday, urging the Senate’s Agricultural Committee to pass the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act. Politicians and representatives from a number of unions including the Hispanic Federation and the New York Civil Liberties Union delivered speeches at the rally. The Act would guarantee agricultural workers one day a week off and overtime pay. If passed into law, the Act will also require that supervisors report injuries to employers and provide employees with workers’ compensation forms. In January, New York Supreme Court Justice Richard McNally dismissed a lawsuit brought by the NYCLU and two other advocacy groups seeking to secure collective bargaining rights for farm workers. Similar attempts to extend protections to agricultural workers in the past have routinely been denied.
See "Farm workers push for labor rights bill at Capitol", Madison Iszler, Times Union, May 16, 2018