Letter to the Editor: Farmworkers come here for more hours, not fewer

The original letter to the editor was published in the Buffalo News on August 10, 2022.

I come to CY Farms in spring for the season and work here for four to eight months. We come for the money and the hours. Last year, during my interview to work here, my first question was “what are the hours?”

We budget on a minimum of 60 hours for us to come work for so long away from family and friends. So, we prefer 60 hours or more, or as much hours as possible.

If it goes lower, they’re not going to let us work over 40 hours. If you want to drop it below 60 hours then it’s not worth it to us. We’re going to find places where we can get 60 or more hours.

I have friends who go south, like to Texas, and they work over 80 hours and don’t have a limit. We’re here for the money. So if it goes lower than 60, we’re going to look down south where we can work the hours we want.

You need to value educated farmworkers. You don’t want to retrain people. If my work drops down to 40 hours, what am I going to do with the rest of the time? My family is not here. I come here to work. We’re going to look for the hours.