Latest news with #LD589
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Farmworker minimum wage bill headed to Gov. Mills
Farmworkers, many of them immigrants, harvest strawberries in Oregon. (Photo by Oregon Department of Agriculture) Once again, the Maine Legislature is sending a bill to the governor's desk that would give farmworkers the right to state minimum wage. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives narrowly passed and then enacted — by a one-vote margin — LD 589, which mirrors a proposal Gov. Janet Mills put forward last session. The Senate enacted the measure later that day, sending it to the governor for her approval. 'By supporting this legislation, we affirm our commitment to fairness and consistency in our labor standards while continuing to honor the invaluable contributions of our agricultural community,' said Rep. Amy Roeder (D-Bangor) during the House debate Tuesday. Mills has vetoed multiple similar proposals in the past, including her own last session after the Labor Committee changed it. However, Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said during a committee meeting last month that Mills seems to be on board with the amended version of LD 589. Similar to the discussion on the Senate floor Monday, some House Republicans raised concerns that this bill would prohibit piecework, which is often used by sectors such as the blueberry industry to pay people based on how much they pick. Roeder, who co-chairs the Labor Committee, clarified that piecework is not outlawed by the bill. Most agricultural employers who spoke to the committee said they already pay more than the state's minimum wage of $14.65 an hour, but proponents have said the bill is important because it addresses the historic exclusion of agricultural workers from labor rights. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Farmworker minimum wage on track to become Maine law
Jun. 3—AUGUSTA — Maine farmworkers could soon be covered by the state's minimum wage law for the first time after lawmakers voted this week to extend the law to the state's agriculture industry. The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, is similar to one proposed last year by Gov. Janet Mills. That effort fell short after lawmakers passed an amended version of the bill and Mills vetoed it. The new legislation, LD 589, passed 74-72 in the House of Representatives on Tuesday and 22-12 in the Senate on Monday. The bill got final passage in the House in the afternoon on a 74-73 vote and was enacted in the Senate with no roll call. It is now headed to the governor. While the governor is expected to sign the bill into law, aides did not respond Tuesday to a question about whether she supports it. Meanwhile, a separate bill that would provide legal protections to farmworkers who discuss their working conditions and pay with other farmhands was rejected by the House, 75-71. That same bill had been previously approved by the Senate, meaning the bill will die between chambers unless a compromise is reached. Under existing law, Maine farmhands can earn as little as $7.25 an hour. That is the federal minimum wage, which has not been raised since 2009. Talbot Ross' bill, which was supported by a range of agricultural associations, would require farmworkers be paid at least the state minimum wage, which is currently $14.65 an hour and increases automatically with inflation. Advocates have been trying to persuade lawmakers to require the state minimum wage for farmworkers for years. They came close to succeeding last year after a stakeholder group proposed a compromise that Mills introduced to the Legislature. A version of Mills' bill was enacted in both chambers, but the governor vetoed it, citing changes made during the committee process, including a provision that would have allowed workers to sue over alleged violations. During floor debates this week, supporters argued the exclusion of farmworkers from minimum wage laws was a long-standing injustice that needs to be corrected. Many farmers are already paying the state minimum or more, and the others should be required to do the same, they argued. The version of the bill working its way through the Legislature doesn't allow workers to sue over violations. It also would allow farmers to continue paying employees based on piecework, or the amount they can harvest or process in a shift, as long as they earn at least the minimum hourly wage. Opponents said the bill would hurt farmers and put them out of business, and that it would jeopardize piecework positions for some who do it to supplement their incomes but don't meet the minimum wage standard. Rep. Gary Drinkwater, R-Milford, said the bill would make it more difficult for seniors or teenagers to be paid by piecework, because they may not be able to harvest enough blueberries to justify their employment. "Anyone who cannot rake enough blueberries to meet the hourly wage simply won't be hired," Drinkwater said. "This bill shuts out the very people who depend on seasonal work." Rep. Rafael Macias, D-Topsham, said the bill sends a message to farmworkers that they and their work are valued. "For too long, agricultural workers, those who plant our food, harvest berries, wrap wreaths, milk cows and work long hours under the sun, have been excluded from basic wage protections most of us take for granted," Macias said. "These exclusions are rooted in a shameful legacy, and they have no place in the Maine of today. All of our hearts should hurt for this long injustice." During a Senate floor debate Monday, Talbot Ross argued that the bill was necessary to correct the historical injustice of underpaying farm hands. She said passing the bill would send the message that Maine would "no longer tolerate a system built on exclusion and inequity." After that, the floor debate devolved when Republicans took offense to references to historical discrimination. "I planned to sit this one out," said Sen. James Libby, R-Standish. "But I can't sit in my chair and listen to people talk about, 'you must support this bill this or else you don't care about minorities.' That is not true." Sen. Joseph Martin, R-Rumford, said he was offended that "somebody would call it racist for someone to pick blueberries or strawberries." And Sen. Scott Cyrway, R-Albion, fondly recalled doing piecework as a child, saying such work was not "slave labor" and "we are not second-class citizens." Those inferences drew a sharp rebuke from Talbot Ross, who said Republicans twisted her words and that listening to the debate was "some of the hardest moments for me to sit in this chair." She stressed that she was criticizing systems, not individuals. "Calling people racist? I work very hard every single solitary day not to do that because I do not believe that's where the discussion should start," Talbot Ross said. "Maybe read United States history, because I am talking about a pattern of discrimination, not individual people who may be of a certain ideology. I'm talking about patterns that history cannot deny. And I will not sit here and have you twist my words to claim otherwise." Despite the votes in favor of the minimum wage, a bill that would afford legal protections to farmhands who discuss their working conditions and pay with each other appears doomed. Those protections are guaranteed to private sector workers through the National Labor Relations Act, but farmworkers are excluded and state lawmakers have made repeated attempts to protect what is known as "concerted activity." Opponents of LD 588 argued that it would allow farmworkers to form unions, citing testimony from labor unions advocating for collective bargaining rights for farmers. Supporters argued that the bill would simply allow workers to talk about wages and working conditions, but would not give them collective bargaining rights. While previously supported in the Senate, the House voted 75-71 to reject the bill Tuesday. It will likely die between the chambers unless a compromise is reached or enough House members change their votes. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maine Senate approves farmworker minimum wage bill
A farmworker in Maine harvests zucchini. (Courtesy of John Williams/MOFGA) The Maine Senate supported a measure to guarantee agricultural workers state minimum wage. On Monday, the upper chamber voted 22-12 with a couple Republicans joining the majority party in the initial passage of LD 589. The legislation will next go to the House of Representatives for an initial vote and will need enactment votes from both chambers before it could be sent to Gov. Janet Mills for approval. Granting minimum wage to farmworkers has been a years-long effort in Maine. Last year, Mills put forward a proposal that she ended up vetoing after the Labor Committee made changes to the bill. The bill this year mirrors the proposal Mills proposed last session. 'With this legislation, we send a clear message, Madam President, to those who harvest our food, nourish our families and sustain our communities,' said Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Cumberland). 'We say today: 'Your work matters, your dignity is recognized, your contributions are invaluable and the state of Maine will no longer tolerate a system built on exclusion and inequity.'' Talbot Ross, who sponsored the bill, also described the legislation as a way to 'turn the page on a painful history,' referring to the historic exclusion of agricultural workers from labor rights. Later in the discussion, Talbot Ross clarified that she was not calling any individuals 'racist' or 'second-class,' but referring to a pattern of discrimination throughout history that excluded Black and brown workers from certain labor protections. The version of the bill supported by the Senate is pared back from the original proposal that also included overtime protections and a phased in overtime wage. Those were removed during the committee process. Multiple Republicans who spoke in opposition to the bill emphasized the importance of piecework for some farms in the state, such as the blueberry industry, which pay people based on how much they pick. Sen. Scott Cyrway (R-Kennebec) said that system encourages people to take pride in their work, while Sen. Joseph Martin (R-Oxford) said, 'piecework is not evil.' Both voted against the legislation. However, Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot), who co-chairs the Labor Committee, clarified that the bill does not prohibit piecework. The other issue raised on the floor stems from broader concerns about automatically updating the state's minimum wage with inflation, as is already the case in state law. Though he said he was 'reluctantly' voting in favor of the bill, Sen. Dick Bradstreet (R-Kennebec) reminded his colleagues that he believes automatic increases to the state minimum wage are hurting the economy. However, he noted that LD 589 doesn't pertain to such cost-of-living increases. Bradstreet said there were components in the original draft of the bill that he did not support, but he backed the amended version because members of the agriculture industry expressed their approval to the committee. Tipping also noted during floor discussion that many agricultural employers in the state told the committee they already pay more than the state's minimum wage of $14.65 an hour. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
