farmworkers

“To drop the threshold to 40 hours over the next decade will be extremely difficult for farmers and farmworkers alike to absorb."

“Some workers have worked like this for more than 20 years. They deserve time with their family. They deserve to rest. They deserve this extra time for them.”

The relief fund sets aside $2.1 billion for those who lost work during the pandemic, but, due to immigration status, were ineligible for unemployment benefits or federal stimulus checks.

"We've seen people who haven't been able to work for an extended period of time."

As essential workers, migrant farm laborers are continuing operations. However, they are also one of the most vulnerable populations if exposed to the virus.

The New York Farm Bureau said farmers need more workers and it wants the President to consider an expansion of a visa program.

“We haven’t really prioritized them as the workforce and the backbone of the agricultural industry that they are."

Crispin Hernandez used to work on a North Country dairy farm. He and others workers tried to organize and were fired. Now he works for a workers' rights group.

"Farm workers are excluded from labor laws that protect all other workers. So, do we want to level the playing field and ensure that those protections are in place?"

Workers rights advocates are planning rallies across the state for a bill that would give farmworkers access to labor protections they don't have.