From all that I have seen and heard, it appears virtually unanimous within New York’s leading agricultural industry that lowering the threshold would be a disaster for many individual farmers, for farm workers, for the industry as a whole, and for the local communities and economies that have long been and remain anchored by farming and agriculture.
Elmira, N.Y., January 21—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) testified before the state’s Farm Laborers Wage Board last night and joined many farmers, farm workers, and industry advocates and experts from across New York calling on the board to not roll back the current 60-hour-per-week overtime threshold for farm workers.
In his testimony (see attached copy above of Senator O’Mara’s written testimony), O’Mara states, “You have heard from countless individual farmers and the leaders of local farm communities. You have heard from the industry’s top advocates, including the New York Farm Bureau, the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, Grow NY Farms, and numerous others. You have heard from local, federal, and state representatives, like myself, who fear the undermining and ongoing collapse of an industry and, equally important, a way of life that has defined the regions we represent for generations. In short, the Board’s decisions and actions, at this specific juncture, could not be more monumental and, in my view, demand your caution.”
Including last night, the board has held three additional virtual public hearings...
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