Fairness For Farmworkers

The Workers Center is a lead member of the Fairness for Farmworkers Coalition, working to advance a new bill through the statehouse that will protect farmworkers’ labor rights.

Sponsored by Senator Adam Gomez and Representative Carlos Gonzalez, the new Fairness for Farmworkers bill will:

1) Increase farmworker wages to guarantee that farmworkers earn the same state minimum wage that most other workers earn, thus abolishing Massachusetts' current law that permits an $8/hour subminimum wage specifically for agricultural workers.

2) Allow seasonal farmworkers to earn overtime pay after 55 hours of work. Current law does not include overtime protections for most farmworkers.

3) Guarantee two paid rest breaks per day, when farmworkers work 8 hours or more.

4) Provides Farmworkers with the opportunity to earn up to 55 hours of paid time off yearly. During the peak of the season, it is not uncommon for farmworkers to labor six or even seven days a week, working an exhausting total of 60-80 hours.

In August of 2021, the Fairness for Farmworkers Coalition released Fruits of the Past, a 45-page white paper detailing the facts, policies and reasons to enact the FFA.  A copy of Fruits of the Past is available for downloading below.

The Fairness for Farmworkers Act has been endorsed by:

  • ACLU of Massachusetts
  • Central West Justice Center
  • Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition
  • Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
  • Pioneer Valley Workers Center
  • Western Massachusetts, Area Labor Federation
  • Massachusetts AFL-CIO
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Local 1459