Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

LABOR SECRETARY ROBERT B. REICH MEETS WITH FARMWORKERS AT FRESNO AREA VINEYARD, TOURS IMPROVED HOUSING FACILITYTues., July 11, 1995

For more information call: 202/219- 8211.

U.S. Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich today met with area farmworkers to discuss enforcement initiatives and to tour a housing facility representative of an emphasis on improving housing and working conditions.

Reich visited Kupina Ranch near Fresno. Petra Kupina, owner and operator of the vineyard, led Reich and others on a tour of the improved housing. Department investigators assessed penalties of $9,000 against Kupina last year alleging migrant housing on the property did not meet standards.

After negotiating with the investigators, Kupina agreed to make more than $50,000 worth of improvements to the housing. This year the housing will be a safe dwelling for up to 30 migrant farmworkers.

"The Department of Labor enforces these laws for the benefit of farmworkers and legitimate and concerned growers," Reich said. "The majority of growers do play by the rules and treat their workers fairly. The legitimate farming interests, those that have built the important agricultural economy of California and the country, should not be undercut by the practices of the illegitimate, bad apples of the industry."

The department's strategy includes an aggressive program of education and outreach so that all parties -- farmworkers, contractors and growers -- understand the rules, leveraging the department's scant enforcement resources and conducting national- linked enforcement sweeps in the migrant streams.

"The success of our enforcement efforts has to be judged by results, not just the dollar value of fines and penalties," said Maria Echaveste, administrator of the department's Wage & Hour division.

"Our enforcement actions must result in better living conditions and safer workplaces. We can accomplish that more quickly and efficiently by engaging in constructive dialogue with the agriculture industry."

In his meeting with farm workers and farm labor advocates today, Reich discussed the department's recent efforts to enforce labor laws that affect farmworkers nationwide.

So far investigators have completed almost 800 compliance reviews in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Washington and Maine.

As a result of the enforcement initiative, Reich said the department's Wage & Hour Division recouped $900,000 in back wages for more than 2,700 farmworkers and assessed $1.2 million in penalties for violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.

But Reich said the ability of the department's Wage & Hour division to effectively police the agriculture industry may be impaired by proposed budget cuts on Capitol Hill.

"The working conditions for four million American farmworkers are still far from what they should be," he said. "Budget cuts proposed in Congress threaten to stall our efforts to enforce the nation's labor laws as they apply to farmworkers."

President Clinton has proposed increasing by 200 the ranks of labor department Wage & Hour enforcement staff focused on low- wage industries. But Reich said proposed budget cuts in Congress would undercut nationwide enforcement crackdowns by reducing the number of enforcement staff targeted to low-wage industries.

"We are seeking the support and cooperation from all the parties in the agriculture industry," Reich said. "We want the end results to be better working conditions, better housing and safer transportation."

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.