ALBANY — Workers’ rights and protections that CSEA members and most other working New Yorkers enjoy will be extended to the thousands of people who put food on our tables.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed legislation (A.8419/S.6578) that takes effect in 2020 and gives farmworkers in New York State labor rights, including the right to unionize, collect overtime pay and have at least one day off per week. The legislation also allows farmworkers to have access to unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation benefits.
Farmworkers in New York State have long been exempt from many of the basic labor rights and protections afforded to most working people in our state, including the U.S. National Labor Relations Act and U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act.
CSEA is a longtime advocate of farmworkers’ rights and strongly supported the legislation. We have stood with the farmworkers who have been fighting for this justice for years, including at rallies across New York.
“This new law provides overdue justice to the people who work hard to provide our food,” CSEA President Danny Donohue said. “Farmworkers deserve dignity and fairness just as all workers do. This legislation will go a long way in improving the lives of thousands of farmworkers.”
