Agricultural Labor

I am a strong supporter of establishing an effective, legal workforce for the agricultural sector in New York State. I recognize that affordable and reliable labor is an important factor in maintaining a viable farm operation. For these reasons, I am proud to co-sponsor the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2007 in the 110th Congress, as I have done in previous Congresses. AgJobs has broad bipartisan support and is the result of years of negotiations among growers and workers. It represents a positive step, not only for New York’s agricultural workers, but for the agricultural industry and for New York’s economy. This would provide a legal process for adjusting the status of certain immigrant agricultural workers and would also provide rights and protections to individuals who are currently undocumented agricultural workers.