Tune in for a very special panel discussion on the proposed Farmworker Fair Labor Practices (FFLP) Bill.

The bill, as described on the NY Senate website, "Enacts the farmworkers fair labor practices act: grants collective bargaining rights to farm laborers; requires employers of farm laborers to allow at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week; provides for a 10 hour work day for farm laborers; requires overtime rate at one and one-half times normal rate; makes provisions of unemployment insurance law applicable to farm laborers; provides sanitary code shall apply to all farm and food processing labor camps intended to house migrant workers, regardless of the number of occupants; provides for eligibility of farm laborers for workers' compensation benefits; requires employers of farm laborers to provide such farm laborers with claim forms for workers' compensation claims under certain conditions; requires reporting of injuries to employers of farmworkers."

The conversation, moderated by Erin Fairbanks, covers a number of different perspectives and gives context on how this will influence the daily lives of farmers and farm workers.

Panelists:

John Cronan, Jr. is the workplace justice organizer at the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York (ROC-NY), a membership-based workers center dedicated to improving working conditions and raising standards in the restaurant industry. He also has over twelve years of experience as a restaurant worker.

Librada Paz is a Council Member of Western New York for the Rural and Migrant Ministry (RMM) and one of the main heads for RMM's Justice for Farmworkers Campaign (JFW). She has been a tireless leader in New York's farmworker human rights movement for 20 years.

Wade McMullen is the Staff Attorney for Partners for Human Rights. In this capacity he will help to develop a new PHR strategic litigation program to bring high impact human rights cases before regional mechanisms and domestic courts. He will work with staff to explore new avenues to enhance the existing work with RFK laureates and human rights defenders worldwide.

Margaret Gray is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Adelphi University.

Adriano Espaillat is a member of the New York State Senate and was a member of the New York State Assembly.

"The right to collective bargaining is a fundamental right." 14:00

--Wade McMullen on HeritageRadioNetwork.org

"It's really hard work, we need to keep the rights of these people. It doesn't matter where you go - farmers will struggle with one thing or another." [17:00]

--Librada Paz on HeritageRadioNetwork.org

"If we're talking about sustainability, we should be talking about sustainable jobs that go along with the delicious meal on the plate." [24:00]

--Maggie Gray on HeritageRadioNetwork.org

"People along the food chain are on public assistance at twice the rate of regular workers." [24:00]

--John Cronan, Jr. on HeritageRadioNetwork.org

This program was sponsored by Tabard Inn.

Greg Asbed is a Co-Founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a worker-based human rights organization. He works with farmworkers and their student, labor, and religious allies to organize the national Campaign for Fair Food, a breakthrough worker-based approach to corporate accountability in the agricultural industry known for its creativity and effectiveness. He writes and designs the CIW's main communication tool -- the website (www.ciw-online.org) and also coordinates the CIW's negotiating team in talks with food industry leaders, negotiating "Fair Food" agreements with nine multi-billion dollar retail food corporations to date, including McDonald's, Subway, Sodexo, and Whole Foods. He is currently leading the effort to develop and implement innovative new farm labor standards in collaboration with two of Florida's largest tomato growers, paving the way for the implementation of the CIW's Fair Food Code of Conduct across the entire Florida tomato industry in November, 2011. Greg is one of the authors featured in the textbook Bringing Human Rights Home: Portraits of the Movement (2008). He has an M.A. in International Economics and Social Change and Development from Johns Hopkins SAIS and is fluent in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. He has also spent the past 15 seasons harvesting watermelons in the states of Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and Maryland. This program has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

"Most farm workers were farmers back home, and I'm sure they'd love the opportunity to use more than just their arms and legs to work."-- Greg Asbed on Greenhorn Radio

Con Ed is looking for 100 relief workers in the 5 boroughs to assist with traffic coordination for $25.99/hour. We spoke to Marissa Lipton, a technical recruiter at Nesco Resource, about the need for relief workers as soon as tomorrow.

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