Students advocate for N.Y. farm workers’ rights

Stephanie Damon-Moore Assistant Arts Editor

New York State does not include farm workers in its constitutional definition of an “employees.” This exception means that farm workers, who are primarily migrant workers, are not protected by many of the labor laws that protect all other workers.

For three of the students in the political science seminar Democratic Engagement, the injustice of separate laws for farm workers has become both a project and a passion. They have taken on the responsibility of educating and recruiting support for farm workers in the Poughkeepsie area, in partnership with the non-profit organization Rural and Migrant Ministry.

“The three of us got involved in this project in a class we’re taking,” said Peter Whinn ’08. “We’re doing this as part of a class project on engagement in community, putting theory to the test and getting out there and making a difference.”

The seminar, taught by Professor of Political Science Sarita Gregory, considers questions such as “What counts as engagement?” and “How healthy is democracy in the United States?” According to the course description, Democratic Engagement combines “theory and practice…through an examination of texts, articles, and films” while getting students “to ‘see’ engagement in action” by exploring and doing political activism here.

Students are tackling different issues in the nine-person seminar, but Whinn and fellow students Allison Koenker ’09 and Thomas Dollan ’09 chose to focus their energies on equal rights for farm workers after listening to Richard Cyril Witt, a guest lecturer who has worked with the Rural and Migrant Ministries to advance the rights of farm workers.

“We have tried to expand our understanding of what counts as political,” explained Gregory in an e-mailed statement, learning “about wage justice and fair employment practices will enrich our thinking about democracy.”

The students’ goal in raising awareness about the injustice suffered by farm workers is to garner support for an act that has already been passed by the New York State House of Representatives and is awaiting a vote in the New York State Senate. The act, known as the Farm Workers Fair Labor Practices Act, would amend the current labor laws to include farm workers. This inclusion would give farm workers, among other things, the right to a voluntary day of rest every seven days, overtime benefits and an equal minimum wage for workers of all ages (less skilled farm workers currently have a lower minimum wage than all other New York workers).

The exclusion of farm workers from federal labor laws was initially a result of racism in the early 20th century. “Farm workers as a group were exclusively denied these rights in the ’30s, when the New Deal was passed, because of very strong lobbying by Southern Democrats” who did not want blacks to gain economic mobility, said Whinn. Today it is in the hands of the states to amend the exclusions in the legislation. But because a large percentage of the farmworking population is made up of migrant workers, the necessary legislation has been a long time coming.

Opponents of the law argue that since farmwork is seasonal, it can’t be compared to other types of work, and that the agricultural industry would not survive if that laws were altered. But as the New York State United Teachers pointed out in a statement of support, in other states that have equal labor laws for farm workers the agricultural industry “has survived without any harm, even prospered.”

Whinn, Koenker and Dollan will spread the word at Vassar by tabling with a petition to which students can add their support. They’re also hoping to get President Catharine Bond Hill’s support, in the form of a letter to our district’s representatives .

“Only a small percentage of Vassar students are registered to vote in this district, so it doesn’t really say enough to have student support, since we’re not the ones voting for them,” Koenker said. “I think it would be a strong statement to have Cappy behind it, and say that our institution is supporting this.” They are courting both student groups and local farmers and businesses.

By garnering support and educating those the laws affect dirctly, they hope to combat some of the opposing interests.

“The Farm Bureau is probably the biggest opposition,” Dollan said. “The Farm Bureau is dominated by agri-business, and they have a big hold in the state legislature, so they have been preventing this bill from coming to the Senate floor.”

One “hold” that the Farm Bureau has in the legislature is Republican Joe Bruno, the Senate Majority Leader, who has the power to keep the act from being voted on, or even discussed, within the Senate. “The plan is to put pressure on the Farm Bureau and on Bruno by making them feel like their constituents and their power base are rallying around the issue,” Whinn said.

Vassar students and the Poughkeepsie community can look forward to hearing more from Whinn, Koenker and Dollan in the coming weeks. The trio hopes to generate support from students and organizations on campus. “This is an issue that affects everybody,” said Dollan, “not just illegal immigrants like some people think.”

And by getting the word out, the students hope to expose the Farm Bureau and other opposition. “The focus is to chip away at their image,” said Dollan, “by spreading education and awareness of the legislation.”