February 5, 2025
Legislative push renewed to raise farmworkers’ pay to state minimum
BY Greenfield Recorder
SPRINGFIELD — Most Massachusetts farmworkers whose hard work puts food on the dinner tables for Massachusetts families have difficulty affording the produce they pick and process.
It’s a reality that the Fairness for Farmworkers Coalition — a group of farmers, advocates, community groups and labor organizations across the state — is campaigning to change this legislative session by refiling the Fairness for Farmworkers Act. If passed, the bill would raise the minimum wage for farmworkers from $8 an hour to the state minimum wage of $15 an hour, require paid overtime after 55 hours a week, offer workers two paid breaks before or after their lunch, and allow workers to earn up to 55 hours of paid time off.
“The notion arose from our direct work at the Central West Justice Center with farmworkers working on the ground,” explained Claudia Quintero, director of the Central West Justice Center. “What we saw is that there is a dearth of protections for farmworkers under state law that keeps workers underprotected and keeps them vulnerable under state law.”
Quintero and other advocates were on hand for a virtual press conference last week to drum up renewed interest in the bills. This is the third time the state Legislature will consider the Fairness for Farmworkers Act. Sponsored by Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, Rep. Frank Moran, Sen. Adam Gomez and Sen. Jamie Eldridge, the bill is broken up into two pieces of legislation this time: “An Act Establishing Fairness for Agricultural Laborers” and “An Act Relative to Overtime for Agricultural Laborers.” Quintero said the coalition hopes that splitting the bill will help it get more traction on Beacon Hill.
Maya McCann, staff attorney at the Central West Justice Center, said Massachusetts farmworkers with families experience poverty at twice the rate of other families, but still compete in the same private housing market and pay the same prices for groceries. Farmworkers work seven-day work weeks, so they often choose between spending time with family and feeding their family, and often skip church services or holiday celebrations. The ability to earn paid time off would give farmworkers the ability to spend time with loved ones without fear of losing money, and higher wages ensure farmworkers can feed themselves and their families.
“The COVID pandemic especially highlighted it, but it was always there: that the farmworkers are an essential part of our society and how we operate a society,” said Jeff Jones, president of United Food & Commercial Workers Labor 1459. “It’s time for respect and dignity to be applied to our farmworkers.”
Pioneer Valley Workers Center Executive Director Claudia Rosales worked in the fields for six years and understands the challenges of farm labor well. Agricultural workers are invisible heroes, she said, as their work is vital to providing healthy, fresh food to the state, but that often goes unrecognized. Raising wages is the just the first step in recognizing the essential work of these laborers.
“Part of seeing the value of these field workers is recognizing what you have on your table, and supporting the political policies and laws that are in favor of the agricultural sector,” Rosales said. “We raise our voices together and ask you to support these laws we want to put in place.”
Gonzalez said farmworker parents in his district begin their day at 4 a.m. to ensure their children get on the school bus and they themselves can board a bus to the farms they are working at, which often entails dropping their children off at a neighbor’s house early in the morning. The parents work from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. before taking a bus back to pick up their kids and finally get home around 7 p.m. It’s a grueling routine, Gonzalez said, for very little pay and no benefits.
“Farmworkers and many laborers were left out of federal protections, even Social Security, and so much of that has to do with providing cheap labor, which has ties to slavery and anti-immigrant sentiment,” Eldridge said.
These laborers, McCann noted, are also on the front lines of the climate crisis. Farmworkers sweat through intense heat waves and lose income when abnormal amounts of rain flood the fields. Adding two paid breaks to their compensation would ensure farmworkers can seek shade, drink water and use the restroom without possible consequences.
The first time the Fairness for Farmworkers Act was introduced in the Legislature, it got stuck in the Labor and Workforce Development Committee. Last year, it went to Joint Committee on Revenue. This year, the Fairness for Farmworkers Coalition hopes its push for the legislation lands it on the governor’s desk.
“I think one thing that is missing is the advocacy from the common person and the recognition of how important farmers are,” Gonzalez said. “The voices need to be loud, the voices need to be heard and action needs to happen.”
Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.