Farmworkers union sues federal government over changes to harvest rate payments union-bulletin.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from union-bulletin.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
YakTriNews.com
December 18, 2020 6:23 PM Shelby Schumacher
YAKIMA, Wash. Washington farm workers recently filed a lawsuit against the federal government in an effort to make sure that they still recieve fair wages.
According to a recent press release from Columbia Legal Services farm worker Ramon Torres Hernandez and his union, Familias Unidas por la Justicia, filed a lawsuit on Dec. 17 against the U.S. Department of Labor relating to changes that will drastically lower harvesting wages for workers.
Columbia Legal Services says the DOL is wanting to implement an “hourly wage guarantee” which would make hiring cheaper for growers. It would also encourage them to hire foreign workers on H-2A visas, because of the decrease in cost.
WA tree fruit worker sues after U S Department of Labor slashes harvest wages ifiberone.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ifiberone.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Washington state tree fruit worker suing after US Department of Labor decreases harvest wages
A farmer worker from Sunnyside, Washington and his union, “Familias Unidas por la Justicia, AFL-CIO (FUJ), filed a lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order in federal court against the US Department of Labor over lowered piece-rate wages. Typically, tree fruit workers earn -higher- piece-rate wages.
Fiberone.com quoted the legal advocacy group as saying: “Torres Hernandez and FUJ seek immediate declaratory and injunctive relief for DOL’s role in arbitrarily interjecting an “hourly wage guarantee” concept into Washington’s prevailing wage surveys. The flawed survey methodology, which mirrors changes advocated by the agricultural industry, watered down wages reported by growers; the prevailing wage was determined to be $12 per hour – $18 less than what Plaintiff Torres Hernandez normally earns on piece-rate wages picking cherries by the pound.”