Protesters Rally for Farmworker Rights, Urge Workers' Compensation Benefits

Friday, June 3, 2016 | 0

Hundreds marched in Albany, N.Y., on Wednesday to protest what they termed the shameful treatment of Hispanic farmworkers and urged legislators to adopt workplace protections for them.

Bishop Scharfenberger (Wikipedia photo)

“It’s a shame and an embarrassment that in New York state we treat the people that give us our food differently from the way we treat other workers,” Albany Catholic Bishop Edward Scharfenberger said in a story reported by NYSNYS News.

Rally organizers are urging the state Senate to vote for the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act, a bill that has languished since its introduction in January 2013.

The act would grant farm laborers collective bargaining rights, one day off each week, and overtime compensation, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation benefits.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo supports the act, but Republican senators are against it because of opposition led by the Farm Bureau.

Scharfenberger said the issue is about basic morality.

“We have to remember that they have families, too, and the way that we treat them is the way we treat their families,” NYSNYS News reported him as saying.

Senate Bill 1743A, better known as the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, can be found here.