Upstate United Offers Testimony About New York’s Agriculture Overtime Threshold

January 28th, 2022

The following testimony was provided by Upstate United executive director Justin Wilcox to the New York State Department of Labor Farm Labor Wage Board on Friday, January 28, 2022.

Members of the wage board, I want to start by thanking you for the opportunity to speak about this important issue.

My name is Justin Wilcox. I am the executive director of Upstate United – a non-partisan advocacy coalition made up of business and trade organizations from all parts of Upstate New York.

On behalf of Upstate Untied, I respectfully urge you to keep the current farm labor overtime threshold at 60 hours.

Lowering the overtime threshold to 40 hours is not progressive – it is problematic.

Family farms – which in many cases, have been passed down through generations may close for good.

Employees at those farms – dedicated men and women who choose to work in agriculture and enjoy unique benefits – will lose their livelihoods.

Consumers across the state will ultimately pay higher costs for milk, produce and other ag products that will be shipped in from other states. Bear in mind, those consumers are already paying more for food due to historic inflation rates.

Additionally, the Nourish New York program – which has been celebrated by Governor Hochul and other leaders – will also be impacted. This program has provided more than 40 million pounds of food to hungry families throughout the pandemic.

Like other struggling businesses across New York, farms are reeling from higher energy costs, higher labor costs and supply chain issues. But unlike employers in other sectors, many farmers cannot raise their prices to balance the books.

At the end of the day, math is still math.

If a farm’s expenses are higher than their revenues, that farm will close. No business can operate at a loss forever. In fact, New York lost more than 2,000 farms from 2012 through 2017.

Considering Governor Hochul’s recent pledge to make New York the most business-friendly state in the nation, jeopardizing more than 33,000 farms and 55,000 jobs just doesn’t add up.

I’ll leave you with one last staggering fact: From July 2020 through July 2021, more than 300,000 New Yorkers fled the state according to the U.S. Census Bureau – more than any other state in the nation.

Lowering the overtime threshold to 40 hours will only drive out more hardworking New Yorkers and drive up costs for remaining residents.

That is a lose-lose situation.

Members of the wage board – for the sake of farmers, farm workers and consumers across the state, I urge you to stay at 60.

Thank you.