Labor
Update: Farm Labor Wage Board delays reducing OT threshold for farmworkers
The three-person New York Farm Labor Wage Board voted Dec. 31 to delay reducing the overtime threshold for farmworkers until at least November. The board had considered lowering the overtime threshold from 60 to 40... more »
Coalition challenges Cal/OSHA emergency standards to protect nation’s food supply
A coalition of agricultural and business employers has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court challenging the COVID-19 related emergency temporary standards recently approved by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. According... more »
Equitable labor certification the highlight of Rainier’s year
An unprecedented year highlighted innovation and integrity at Rainier Fruit Company that lead to groundbreaking and industry-setting standards. “I am extremely proud of the accomplishments we have made in 2020,” said Blake Belknap, vice... more »
H-2A wage rate freeze, reforms rejected by federal judge
On Dec. 23, a federal court in California enjoined the U.S. Department of Labor’s decision to freeze, and effectively lower, several hundred thousand farmworkers’ wages employed at farms that use the H-2A agricultural guestworker program.... more »
CSU scholars discuss COVID-19’s impacts on food system, ag workers
The High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (HICAHS) at Colorado State University hosted a virtual panel discussion on the impacts of COVID-19 on workers in the agricultural sector on Tuesday, Dec. 8. Moderated by... more »
Grower-shipper group expands farm worker COVID-prevention training to Yuma
Replicating another of its Salinas Valley programs, the Grower Shipper Association of Central California (GSA) has established a COVID-19 training prevention program for food facility and farm employees in the Yuma in cooperation with the Regional... more »
Gebbers Farms fined $2M for violating COVID-19 safety procedures
An investigation into the COVID-19 deaths of two workers at a central Washington farm has found dozens of safety and health violations. As a result, the Washington state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has cited Gebbers... more »
‘United’ is a simple word that requires fortitude
My son was six years old. It was his first attempt at public speaking, and he had to memorize lines for the parents’ evening in his first-grade classroom. Over, and over again, he practiced with... more »
