Latest news with #agriculturalworkers
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Mills signs minimum wage for Maine agriculture workers into law
Jun. 10—Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday signed a bill into law that requires agricultural workers be paid at least the state minimum wage. 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. 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. Once the new law takes effect, farmhands must earn at least the state minimum wage, which is currently $14.65 an hour and increases automatically with inflation. Advocates, who have been advocating for the bill for years, celebrated the signing in a news release. Talbot Ross said in a written statement that the signing of the bill is a "long overdue step towards justice" and corrects "a legacy of exclusion rooted in racism that denied protections to Black, Brown, Latino, and Indigenous laborers." "Today, Maine made history," Talbot Ross said. "This moment belongs to the workers who have spoken out for years — often unheard and unseen — demanding the most basic rights and dignity. Today, we say to them: We see you. We value your work. You belong fully under Maine law." Heather Spalding, deputy director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, said her organization is "thrilled that Maine is taking this step toward social justice and correcting an error on the law books." "This is a bare-bones policy to protect the people who carry out physically demanding tasks, for long hours in all kinds of weather to ensure that we have food on our tables," Spalding said. Republicans largely opposed the bill, warning that it could put farms out of business and jeopardize piecework, where workers get paid by the amount of crops they harvest as opposed to hourly wages. The bill mirrors a proposal put forward by a diverse working group assembled by Mills during the last legislative session. That bill was amended in committee to allow aggrieved farmworkers to sue over alleged violations. It passed both chambers, but was vetoed by Mills. The new law will take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns. Copy the Story Link
CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Union says lawsuit over federal pesticide safety rules aims to protect agricultural workers
Social Sharing A union representing agricultural workers across the country says the information workers get when handling pesticides is insufficient. It is suing the federal government with the aim of forcing it to enforce rules, it says, already exist. "It's high time for the federal government to do what it's already committed to do and that's what this case is about," Derek Johnstone of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) said. "It's also another opportunity for us as Canadians to look at something as basic a food worker knowing what he or she or they are handling and not having that information, so how did we get here?" The union held an information session about safety sheets in Leamington, Ont., on Sunday. Thousands of workers come from countries such as Mexico and Guatemala to work in greenhouses in the southwestern Ontario community each year. The UFCW launched its lawsuit against the federal government in federal court last week. It argues that safety information including "material safety data sheets" are a condition of registering pest control products and that those sheets must be provided to workplaces that use the products. The application by the union states that the government has taken the "unreasonable position that the provision of material safety data sheets to workplaces is voluntary" and that by not enforcing the requirement, it is failing to protect agricultural workers. "It's unfortunate that the government has taken to using the term voluntary when it comes to providing basic information about chemicals and pesticides that workers handle," Johnstone said. "This is not a choice. This is not a recommendation by government. This is a right enshrined in health and safety law. The right to know is the first step when it comes to a worker's health and safety rights." Health Canada refused comment to the CBC on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation. Sean O'Shea of Ecojustice, an environmental law charity whose lawyers are listed on the application, says data sheets provide information about possible risks of pest control products and protective measures one should take when using them. "It might require you to wear (personal protective equipment) to discard of any clothes you're wearing before you return to your home," he said. "It might say that it shouldn't be mixed with another chemical or another pesticide because it's not just the use of one pesticide. The problem is the use of several pesticides can have cumulative effects when chemicals are mixed together."
CBC
19-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Callaloo crop brings Jamaican farm workers a taste of home
Social Sharing In a greenhouse at Foster's Family Farm in North Gower, about 45 kilometres south of Parliament Hill, juvenile tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, romaine and other traditional seedlings wait to be transplanted in nearby fields. Among the shoots are also plug trays full of delicate callaloo (pronounced kah-lah-loo) plants. Callaloo is a leafy green vegetable common in Caribbean dishes. It's especially popular in Jamaica, where it's often steamed with salted cod and spices, sometimes with garlic, onions and tomatoes added. Despite its reputation as a flavourful and nutritious superfood, fresh callaloo isn't easy to find in Canada, though major grocery chains and specialty stores do carry the canned variety. The seasonal agricultural workers who return to Mel Foster's farm each year were missing this familiar taste of home, so a few years ago they suggested he try growing it. Foster agreed. "With new Canadians coming, it's always a topic of what new vegetables we can grow from their home country that they're familiar with," he said. This spring, Foster's farm is raising some 14,000 callaloo plants from seeds harvested from last year's crop. Donovan Carridice is the worker who planted the callaloo seeds this spring. "It compares to spinach, but it's more juicy and [has] more texture to it," said Carridice, who also extolled the vegetable's health benefits. "When I was a kid … this would make you run and climb the trees." Foster hadn't even heard of callalloo until the Jamaican workers started singing its praises. At first he was doubtful because of its similarity to redroot pigweed, another member of the amaranth family. But when he attended the annual Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Niagara Falls, he realized many Ontario growers were experimenting with non-traditional crops, and decided to give callaloo a try. "Because it gets … an early start in the greenhouse, it takes off well," he said. "Sometimes we wait until the first of June just to be careful." Foster said he's also relying on the knowledge of his employees. "We've got the Jamaicans here to tend to it and care for it, and they have the expertise to to grow it," he said. Carridice also had his doubts that callaloo would grow in eastern Ontario's relatively harsh climate. "We tried it one year and see that it come," he said, eyeing this year's crop, which will be harvested around Canada Day. "Can't wait to have some." Carridice has even shared pictures of the callaloo crop with his family back home, and said they were also amazed it could grow here. Howard Ricketts has been coming from Jamaica for seasonal agricultural work for 16 years. He used to help his father grow callaloo back home, and said he missed it when he first arrived in Canada. Now it's like a taste of home, he said. "I don't miss Jamaica … because I'm eating the callaloo." "It's a very healthy vegetable to eat," enthused Carlington Graham, also from Jamaica. "It's rich in iron and vitamin A." It also happens to be delicious, he said. "It has a rich taste. To me, it has a better taste than spinach." Graham remembers his mother preparing callaloo and salted cod for a Sunday meal, and said the crop grown at Foster's farm measures up. "It still has the taste that I remember back in the day," he said. "I still remember that delicious taste." Like Carridice, Graham likes to send pictures of the Canadian callaloo to his family in Jamaica. "They say, 'Wow, that's surprising, I didn't know you grow callaloo in Canada.' And I say, 'Yes, and it's just like our callaloo back home." Back when the crop was just getting started, Foster approached the Caribbean diplomatic community to help spread the word. "They talked to some of their people, and then we started getting people calling … and we're selling more and more," he said. Now some stores in the Ottawa area are buying his harvest, and the farm sells callaloo at its roadside stands and market stalls. While he's pleased for his employees, Foster said he hasn't yet developed the same appreciation for callaloo. "To be honest, if it didn't have the onions, the garlic and the tomatoes, I probably wouldn't eat it again," he said.
