VESTAL, NY (WSKG) - Assemblyman Phil Palmesano is pushing back against a bill that would give farm workers the same rights as all workers in the state.
The Corning Republican released a statement saying the Farm Labor bill would do a lot of damage to family run farms that are already struggling. His district includes part of Steuben, Chumung and Seneca counties and all of Yates and Schuyler counties.
The bill would allow farm workers to collectively bargain. Palmesano warned that will be the end of family farms that might not be able to handle the cost. He blamed downstate Democrats for pushing the bill without understanding upstate issues.
All of this comes a day after a mid-level appeals court has declared that farmworkers have the same right to organize as all other workers in New York state.
Governor Andrew Cuomo praised that decision.