STATE GOVERNMENT
Inslee signs historic farmworker OT pay law
At Yakima union hall, governor signs multiple bills to protect frontline workers
YAKIMA (May 12, 2021) — Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday signed legislation at the UFCW 1439 union hall in Yakima that will make Washington the first state in the nation to bring the 40-hour work week and overtime pay to all agricultural employees. Inslee also signed bills that will increase worker safety protections and expand support for frontline workers during public health emergencies.
Passage of legislation assuring the 40-hour workweek and overtime pay rights for all Washington farm workers has been a priority for the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions, including the United Farm Workers (UFW) and Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ). SB 5172 establishes a three-year phase-in period for the new requirement that agricultural employers pay overtime to their employees. Beginning in January 2022, overtime would be due after 55 hours of work in a week; in January 2023, after 48 hours; and in January 2024, after 40 hours. Dairy workers, unlike other agricultural workers, will immediately be due overtime pay after 40 hours of work in a week, in keeping with the state Supreme Court’s decision in Martinez-Cuevas v. DeRuyter Brothers Dairy, Inc.
“SB 5172 will end a racist legacy and correct an injustice that has existed for too long,” said Larry Brown, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. “Washington’s labor movement thanks Governor Inslee and all the representatives and senators who voted to approve this bill, and the hundreds of supporters who contacted their legislators urging them to do so.”
“Agricultural workers in Washington and across the country have helped carry our nation through this pandemic — working long hours, often at great personal risk, to meet the needs of their communities and keep America healthy and well-nourished,” Biden said. “These overtime protections will ensure that agricultural workers in Washington are paid for all of the vital work they do.”
Ana Cruz, a UFW leader, activist and champion for her fellow farm workers, spoke at Tuesday’s bill signing with translation from the WSLC’s Dulce Gutiérrez.
“During my five years as a dairy worker, I saw firsthand how much workers sacrifice. Injuries are constant in dairies. Many of us worked 16-hour shifts with no overtime pay. Agriculture is Washington’s second largest industry. Farm workers feed all of us. Farm workers deserve overtime pay,,” Cruz said. “Today’s bill signing puts an end to 83 years of racist exclusion of farm workers from Washington state’s overtime pay laws. Thank you to Senator Karen Keiser and all of our allies. Most importantly, a massive thank you to all the workers who never gave up the fight to be treated as equally as other workers.”
I was so honored to work with @UFW members like Ana who has worked in the fields for 16 years and is still fighting for justice. Our new overtime pay law is also another step for racial justice @stateinnovation https://t.co/MqhEfxlxil
— Karen Keiser (@KarenKeiser1) May 12, 2021
EDITOR’S NOTE — California also has approved overtime pay for farm workers. Under its phase-in schedule, larger agricultural employers have to pay overtime after 40 hours/week in 2022, but smaller growers have until 2025 to comply. Under SB 5172, Washington would be the first state in the country to have its overtime pay standard apply to ALL farm workers in 2024.
Also Tuesday at the UFCW hall in Yakima, Inslee signed:
“SB 5115 takes a big step to assure frontline essential workers that they will have a safety net to protect them in a statewide health emergency,” Keiser said. “I hope it will also reduce their anxiety and worry as they get up and go to work every day to face potential COVID-19 infection in their workplace.”
“SB 5115 will ensure added protections for frontline workers by notifying them and their union representatives of a known COVID-19 exposure,” said UFCW 1439 President Eric Renner, whose union represents grocery and retail workers. “This along with new reporting requirements for positive COVID-19 cases to Labor and Industries will promote worker safety for those who have sacrificed so much during this pandemic. UFCW Local 1439 is very appreciative of Governor Inslee for signing this bill into law.”
“I’m glad the Legislature showed strong bipartisan support in passing this common-sense bill,” Holy said. “Health-care workers face a very direct and immediate threat when they have to treat patients with infectious diseases. I was approached by constituent healthcare workers who had been told to take unpaid leave while quarantining due to exposure or infection from COVID-19 — we must do better by them. When we are facing this type of emergency in our state and country, we need to take care of the people who are being asked to step-up and take care of the public.”
“The worker protections legislation we passed this session will make a significant difference in the lives of many Washington working families,” Sells said. “Some of these bills were needed before the pandemic, and COVID-19 only made them that much more urgent. Some things were unfortunately left on the table, but I am committed to continue pushing these issues because our workforce deserves a government that provides support and solutions. I think these bills put us on the right track.”