And the band marches on

Why do worker's rights group of all walks always use the same old sixties chants, like here?

"What do we want?" Rosa Rivera shouted through a megaphone as she moved up and down the column of marchers.

"Justice!" the marchers shouted back.

"When do we want it?" Rivera asked.

"Now!" was the resounding answer.

Now, what these farm workers in upstate New York want seems modest enough:

If passed, the bill (Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act) would grant New York's farm workers disability insurance, overtime pay, one day of rest per week and the right to collectively bargain.

These days, who doesn't have these benefits with a full-time job?

Ah, there's a question: Do these workers work full time? Or are they seasonal laborers? Are they part-time? What would the impact on their employers be?

Considering the fact that upstate New York is an employment desert, and has been for years. Often because Albany hasn't met a regulation it hasn't liked.

I'd like answers to these questions. Instead, I got more of this:

Sister of Mercy Janet Korn was among the marchers in Sodus. She joined the march because she felt it was part of her duty as a Catholic person, said Sister Korn, social-justice awareness coordinator for diocesan Catholic Charities.

"Part of the social teaching of the church really supports -- not only supports, but demands -- that workers be treated justly and fairly," she said. "It's part of our faith commitment that we are in solidarity with other workers who are looking for just wages and rights."

And the perspective of the other side of the story? Maybe this:

Mark Hansen, (Joseph)Bruno's (NYS Senate Majority Leader)spokesman said the senator needs to look at some of the legislative concerns related to the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act, such as the cost of doing business, but will continue to discuss the issues Rivera and the farm workers brought up.

I did a little digging. I found a statement from the New York Farm Bureau, a NY Farm advocacy group. They issued a press release here:

The facts of farm employment in New York are as follows:

* Federal law strictly regulates migrant employment through the Migrant and Seasonal Protection Act
* State and Federal law regulates wage payment, housing, and transportation conditions for seasonal and year-round farm workers
* State enforcement of federal law requires strict adherence to safety standards for agricultural employees for the application of pesticides
* Farmers are required to sign work agreements with employees that set forth the wages, benefits, and working hours
* The National Agricultural Statistical Services' latest quarterly survey in 2005 found that farm workers worked an average of 36.6 hours per week
* That same survey identified wage rates for field workers as $9.47 an hour, and for livestock workers as $9.17 an hour
* Strict enforcement of federal child labor laws on farms; one violation of a child labor law could result in as much as a $60,000 fine

The truth about state labor law as it applies to migrant labor:

* Many decades ago the federal government recognized that farm labor needs were different and unique to the modern production of food – necessary to keep society able to work in cities, manufacturing, and other concerns
* New York State law closely models the federal employment exemptions for agriculture, recognizing that much of agricultural work is seasonal and during the planting and harvest season a 9-to-5 day may not be possible
* New York requires the payment of workers’ compensation to farm employees

The facts about what farm workers in New York actually want:

An independent research study was conducted of current and former farm workers in New York State by Cornell University’s Department of Sociology. This survey demonstrated that:

* 90 percent of farm workers when asked what their major needs were identified learning English as the top priority
* 50 percent desired education and/or job training
* 45 percent wanted access to housing
* 30 percent wanted to learn more about U.S. culture
* Only 3 percent identified improvement in workplace conditions as a major need.

Wouldn't it be a great idea for an award-winning catholic newspaper to at least get some response from the other interested party? I thought that journalism was about staking out the fair perspective, so that the story told was fair. Perhaps Farm workers are mistreated. Or Perhaps Farmers are the grieved party. I don't know. Neither does the Catholic Courier, or anyone else that has read this article.

Fair reporting. What a concept!