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New York sued over anti-farm union law, refuses to defend it
Source: Reuters
World | Tue May 10, 2016 6:05pm EDT
New York sued over anti-farm union law, refuses to defend it
NEW YORK | BY MARCUS E. HOWARD
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday he would not defend a state law that excludes farmworkers from the right to unionize, hours after the state was sued by a dairy worker who claimed he had been fired for meeting with labor organizers.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) filed the lawsuit on behalf of Crispin Hernandez, who said he lost his job in September at Mark Farms, a large dairy farm in upstate New York where he worked for three years. The other plaintiffs were employee rights groups Worker Justice Center of New York and Workers' Center of Central New York.
The lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Albany against Cuomo and the state of New York seeks to provide farmworkers the right to organize without fear of retaliation, court documents showed. New York is the nation's fourth largest dairy producer behind California, Wisconsin and Idaho, the lawsuit said.
"I agree with the NYCLU that the exclusion of farm workers from the labor relations act is inconsistent with our constitutional principles, and my administration will not be defending the act in court," Cuomo said in a press statement. "We will not tolerate the abuse or exploitation of workers in any industry."
The lawsuit said a Mark Farms manager called the police in August after he saw Hernandez meeting with a Workers' Center of Central New York representative on farm property after work. Hernandez was fired a month later.
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New York sued over anti-farm union law, refuses to defend it
NEW YORK | BY MARCUS E. HOWARD
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday he would not defend a state law that excludes farmworkers from the right to unionize, hours after the state was sued by a dairy worker who claimed he had been fired for meeting with labor organizers.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) filed the lawsuit on behalf of Crispin Hernandez, who said he lost his job in September at Mark Farms, a large dairy farm in upstate New York where he worked for three years. The other plaintiffs were employee rights groups Worker Justice Center of New York and Workers' Center of Central New York.
The lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Albany against Cuomo and the state of New York seeks to provide farmworkers the right to organize without fear of retaliation, court documents showed. New York is the nation's fourth largest dairy producer behind California, Wisconsin and Idaho, the lawsuit said.
"I agree with the NYCLU that the exclusion of farm workers from the labor relations act is inconsistent with our constitutional principles, and my administration will not be defending the act in court," Cuomo said in a press statement. "We will not tolerate the abuse or exploitation of workers in any industry."
The lawsuit said a Mark Farms manager called the police in August after he saw Hernandez meeting with a Workers' Center of Central New York representative on farm property after work. Hernandez was fired a month later.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-farmers-idUSKCN0Y12QN
