AS HARVEST SEASON BEGINS, FARM BILL SOWS SEEDS OF JOB LOSSES

Assemblyman Parment voted for “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act” that if passed
in Senate, will kill agricultural jobs and close family farms in New York

As the fall harvest season begins and agri-tourism at farms across the state kicks into high gear, legislation that was passed this year in the state Assembly threatens the continued growth of New York’s farm industry.

The so-called “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act” (Assembly Bill A.1867/Senate Bill S.2247) is sponsored by a New York City Assembly member, and imposes yet another burdensome and costly state mandate on family farms, significantly driving up their labor costs and operating expenses, ultimately forcing many out of business altogether.

Assemblyman Bill Parment (D-150th A.D.) was among a handful of upstate legislators to vote “yes” for the controversial legislation.

The Assembly bill passed in June by a vote of 86 to 58 with 19 Majority Democrats joining Minority Republicans in a bi-partisan attempt to stop the anti-farm measure. It has not yet come up for a vote in the Senate. Governor Paterson has indicated he would sign the bill if it comes to his desk.

According to the New York Farm Bureau, if enacted, the measure would cost New York’s family farms over $200 million annually, at the very time many are struggling from the economic recession and operating in one of the worst business climates in the nation.

“Assemblyman Parment’s anti-farm vote on this rotten apple of a bill could sow the seeds of job losses and farm closures all across Western New York,” said Kathleen Hennessey, Spokeswoman for the New York Republican Assembly Campaign Committee (RACC).
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