Farmworkers have the right to organize and bargain collectively, a new court ruling says.

The decision by the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department in the case of Crispin Hernandez v. the State of New York and the New York Farm Bureau ruled the exclusion of farmworkers from the State Employment Relations Act to be unconstitutional.

While Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo applauded the decision, New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher said his organization was “extremely disappointed in the majority’s decision and the breadth of its ruling.

“The Appellate Court was considering the trial court’s decision on a motion to dismiss, which if denied, would have permitted Farm Bureau to fully litigate this case in the trial court,” he said in a statement.

“Instead, the majority of the court decided to make a far-reaching determination by declaring the right to collectively bargain as a “fundamental right,” on par with the freedoms of speech and religion.”

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Case history

In May 2016, farmworker Crispin Hernandez, the Workers Center of Central New York and Worker Justice Center of New York brought the lawsuit in Albany County Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the SERA’s exclusion of farmworkers.

“The complaint alleged that Hernandez’s employer, Marks Farm LLC, terminated his employment in retaliation for exercising his constitutional right to organize by meeting with coworkers and advocates from WCCNY and WJCNY to discuss dangerous working conditions on the farm,” the release from Cuomo and James said.

“But because the SERA excludes farmworkers, Mr. Hernandez was left with no protection under the law.”

The plaintiffs were represented by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The state and Cuomo were the named defendants in the action, but chose to side with the plaintiffs.

The Farm Bureau filed a motion to dismiss the New York Civil Liberties Union’s lawsuit and, in January 2018, State Supreme Court Judge Richard McNally granted the request.

The plaintiffs and the state defendants appealed that ruling to the Appellate Division, Third Department.

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‘One simple reason’

“New York Farm Bureau has long opposed farmworker collective bargaining for one simple reason,” the Farm Bureau said in an earlier press release explaining its participation in fighting the case.

“Much of agriculture is driven by the seasons and the weather in a way that is different from any other occupation.

“Additionally, livestock care can also be an around-the-clock job. A work stoppage in the name of a labor strike can seriously put animal health and a season’s worth of work in jeopardy.

“Farmers greatly value the work of their employees,” the Farm Bureau said, “but as farms continue to struggle in this difficult farm economy, additional labor regulations and higher business costs will only push more farms out of business and reduce the number of jobs, on the farm and off, in our rural communities.”

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Farm Labor Act

The organization’s arguments in the case closely dovetail with those the farming community has made in opposition to the Farm Labor Act that is pending in Albany and would require farmworkers be paid overtime after exceeding a 40-hour work week, be given a 24-hour-time-off period once a week and other restrictions.

According to the Farm Bureau, net farm income would drop by about 23 percent if the Farm Labor Act becomes law.

Collectively, according to lending institution Farm Credit East, labor costs would jump by $300 million if overtime pay were required.

Both Clinton and Franklin county legislatures unanimously approved resolutions against the act, as have 12 or so other county boards around the state.

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Denied basic rights

Cuomo called the court ruling on collective bargaining “a victory for some of the most vulnerable members of New York’s workforce.

“From the beginning, we chose not to defend against this lawsuit because farmworkers never should have been denied the same basic rights as other workers and we believed this to not only be morally wrong, but also unconstitutional,” he said in a joint press release with the attorney general.

“This ruling asserts that farmworkers are no longer considered second-class workers in the eyes of the law,” James said in the release.

“My office will always fight for the hardworking people in this state, and their fundamental rights to organize, access workplace protections, and receive fair wages for a fair day’s work.”

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Fundamental status

The opinion drafted by Justice Christine M. Clark, the Third Department, reversed the Supreme Court’s decision by a 4-1 majority, holding that the exclusion of farmworkers from the SERA was unconstitutional.

The court reasoned that farmworkers are “employees” within the plain meaning of the term and that nothing in the constitutional provision’s language or history suggests an intent to give that term a narrower meaning, the release from the state said.

As well, the court held that the right to organize and collectively bargain “is enshrined in the New York Bill of Rights” and has “fundamental status” under New York’s “longstanding tradition of protecting the rights of workers.”

Clark’s opinion was joined by Presiding Justice Elizabeth A. Garry andJustices Michael C. Lynch and Eugene P. Devine. Justice Stan L. Pritzker filed a dissent.

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Will appeal

“We believe that the majority’s conclusion is unsupportable and disregards decades of precedent,” Fisher said after the decision.

“The court’s dissenting opinion exposed the flaws in the majority’s ruling and identified that the decision eliminates Farm Bureau’s right to defend the constitutionality of the statute in trial court.

“Speaking more broadly, if the legislature, and now the courts do not recognize the value of preserving a viable and economically sustainable food production system in the state, New York agriculture will continue to shrink under a mountain of mandates. Our rural economy and local job opportunities will suffer.

“And New Yorkers will find it harder to access New York grown food, instead relying on food brought in from out of state, or worse yet, out of the country to feed their families.

“New York Farm Bureau fully intends to appeal the court’s ill-conceived ruling.”