Amid the polarized stances on a proposed law that would create a clear path for Washington farmworkers to negotiate for better wages and workplace conditions, the bottom line seems to be: In its current state, the agriculture industry is not sustainable for workers, nor their employers.
This legislative session, lawmakers will make a decision on Senate Bill 6045, which has strong support from immigrant farmworkers who say they are struggling to support their families while facing unsafe and exploitative working conditions.
Farmworkers can unionize, but that right isn’t enforced. With the establishment of a formal process, employees wouldn’t have to resort to costly strikes to get a collective bargaining agreement and would have the same rights as other workers, supporters say.
On the nay side, farm owners and their representatives argue the bill is untimely, too broad and likely to add further stress to an already fragile industry.
To state Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, a Democrat who represents the 37th Legislative District and who is the bill’s prime sponsor, the measure is a first step toward fixing a food system that is based on exploitation.
As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant and farmworker and a longtime advocate for farmworker rights, she said there has never been “the right time” for a bill like this. After hearing testimonies from both sides during a Senate Labor & Commerce Committee hearing on Jan. 20, she said the time to take on a big challenge is now.
Addressing a history of exclusion
The bill would place agricultural employees (anyone who works in the fields and/or is involved in the processing, storing, packaging, marketing and distribution of agricultural products) under the jurisdiction of the Public Employment Relations Commission, a state agency that helps workers and employers resolve labor disputes.
Minus a few exceptions, PERC does not have jurisdictional authority over private sector workers. However, if the bill is signed into law, farmworkers would see PERC and the courts enforce existing state law that grants employees the right to organize and form labor unions, according to the bill report.
This change at the state level would address a hole in the National Labor Relations Act, a federal law passed in 1935 that allows most employees in the private sector to collectively bargain and join unions.
As pointed out by April Sims, president of the Washington State Labor Council, agricultural workers (most of whom have historically been people of color) are excluded from the act, which is enforced by the National Labor Relations Board.
“You have a chance to both empower the farm families who supply our food and to correct this historic injustice,” Sims told lawmakers. “By advancing this policy, you’re delivering on a promise made to our country’s workers, but denied to millions.”
Feeding others while struggling to feed their families
On Jan. 20, before providing testimony to the committee, farmworkers shared their grievances at the 13th annual tribunal hosted by Familias Unidas por la Justicia, an independent labor union representing more than 400 immigrant farmworkers in Skagit and Whatcom counties.
As explained by Political Director Edgar Franks, most farmworkers don’t vote, but can still use their voice in assemblies like these to influence the system.
Addressing the crowd in Spanish, union President Jose Ramirez said farmworkers are not asking for a handout, but for fair wages and treatment, while farm owners deliberately misrepresent the situation when talking to lawmakers and state employees.
For example, Ramirez said many farmworkers have unsuccessfully submitted complaints to the Department of Labor & Industries about poor workplace conditions, including unclean bathrooms. Whenever a report is submitted, he alleged, the agency reaches out to the farm to set up a visit, which gives employers time to clean and make inspectors dismiss the complaint.
A 9-year-old girl said the bill would give her parents dignity, fair pay and more time to spend with their children. To make enough money to support the family, she said, her parents work as much as they can, even amid floods and high temperatures.
Union Vice President Tomas Ramon recalled how many Skagit workers were in the fields during the COVID-19 lockdown or, as it happened in December, during an evacuation order.
With already low wages, bills to pay and families to feed, many choose to risk their safety over losing income from missing days of work. To ensure their safety is valued during adverse natural events, Ramon said he’d like to see farmers get paid leave.
Increased pressure from H-2A program
At the tribunal, several speakers said they have been struggling to find employment as more farms opt to hire temporary workers from foreign countries. This is possible through the H-2A visa program, which grants workers legal entry to the U.S. for up to three years, if the employer can prove there is a local shortage of labor.
A fruit picker from Quincy said some farm owners have been taking advantage of local immigrants who are desperate for work. In his experience, that has looked like getting paid $80 for eight hours of work, or $10 an hour. That is $7.13 less than the state minimum wage, and much less than what he used to earn when he first started working in the United States in 1998, he said.
A farmworker from the Sunny Side area described H-2A workers as the slaves of the future, as their precarious situation makes them unable to advocate for themselves.
The H-2A program has been criticized for failing to protect farmworkers from abuse, poor housing conditions, exploitation and wage theft. Supporters, on the other hand, say the program is a solution to the labor shortage and an alternative to hiring undocumented people.
Following a policy change by the Trump administration in October, the minimum pay for H-2A workers in Washington was lowered from $19.82 to $17.13 an hour for entry-level employees and $19 for skilled workers, according to the Washington Policy Center. Whereas employers were previously required to provide housing for free, they can now deduct $2.49 per hour to pay for housing costs, according to the Worker and Farmer Labor Association.
Farm owners and advocates say bill too restrictive
Farmers who oppose the bill said it would increase their burden when agriculture is already heavily regulated, workers are protected and content, and Washington has the highest minimum wage in the country.
For years, farms have been struggling to make a profit amid unchanged commodity prices, foreign competition and the rising cost of labor and equipment. In Washington, these issues have contributed to the closure of more than 3,700 farms between 2017 and 2022, as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Pam Lewison, agriculture research director for the Washington Policy Center, opposed the bill.
She cited a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which found that Washington farmers saw a loss of $294 million in returns by the end of 2024, and attributed this loss to farmers ensuring their workers were being paid.
At the same time, the USDA’s Farm Income and Wealth Statistics data shows that farmers in the state paid workers $931 million less in 2024 compared to 2023, as The Stranger first reported.
Lewison also told the committee that the protections in the bill already exist, citing the Norris-LaGuardia Act.
The act, passed in 1932, barred federal courts from issuing injunctions to prevent strikes and boycotts, and prohibited employers from requiring job candidates to sign yellow-dog contracts — in which candidates agree not to join a union as a condition of employment.
Andrea Schmitt, a supporter of the bill and a lawyer at Columbia Legal Services, said the Norris-LaGuardia Act provides incomplete protection.
“It does not give the right to a union election or a union contract. There is no state enforcement agency for that law,” she said, recalling the “years of tireless efforts” that it took a group of farmworkers to build Familias Unidas por la Justicia in the absence of that enforcement mechanism.
Gilardo Perez, a farmworker who lives in the 13th district and is a father of six, recalled being treated “like an animal” no matter how hard and fast he worked. When he tried to start a union, his employer of 28 years fired him.
Farmers have also argued that the bill fails to protect both the farmers and the farmworkers.
“Allowing strikes during immovable harvest windows can destroy an entire crop overnight, eliminating jobs, not protecting them,” said Enrique Gastelum, CEO of the Worker and Farmer Labor Association.
Several speakers expressed concern over the use of card-check to certify a union, which they said would strip workers of their privacy and make them vulnerable to coercion by their union leaders or employers. The bill does allow for secret ballot elections depending on the situation, as PERC does.
The bill was scheduled to be discussed in two executive sessions at 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 2 and 3 in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce.
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
