The following letter to the editor was originally published on September 12, 2022. The article…
A new editorial in the Post Journal credits the latest Cornell University report on the farm labor overtime threshold as justification for it to stay at 60.
The editorial read in part, “Cornell University researchers, after all, are no dummies. And they say two-thirds of dairy farms interviewed indicated they would move out of milk production, direct future dairy investment to other states, invest outside of dairy, or exit agriculture entirely while half of fruits and vegetable farms interviewed indicated they would shrink enterprises or exit the industry. On the other side of the equation, 72% of guest workers indicated that they would be less likely to do their current job if hours were capped at 40 per week while 70% of guest workers indicated that they would consider going to another state without capped hours if hours were limited in New York.
Three virtual public hearings will be held, though we don’t know what good the hearings will do. Cornell has already done the state’s work. Starting overtime at 40 hours is bad for farms and farm workers. The real question is whether or not the state will listen.”