Now is the time to stand up for the farmworkers that help us put food on the tables of Oregon and keep our sector running smoothly. We as farmers have a special power to make a difference in this conversation. If you believe that farmworker overtime is the right thing to do, legislators need to hear from you! We urge you to take a few minutes to personalize your testimony and submit your story to help farm workers win overtime in Oregon and have parity with other industries across the state. The deadline to submit written testimony for the joint committee hearing is February 25th at 1:30pm!
Deadline to submit written testimony is February 25th at 1:30pm
Testimony Instructions:
SUBMIT YOUR TESTIMONY THROUGH THIS FORM
- Select the hearing for February 24th at 1:30pm
- Select HB 4002 for testimony
- Enter your information and select testifying “In Support”
- Choose Text Testimony (or upload a pdf of your testimony file)
- Use the template below to write testimony in support. Remember to customize the sections in yellow with your experience, the more personal the testimony, the more effective your words are! Paste your customized text in and submit!
Testimony Template:
Date: 2/ /2022
To: Joint Committee on Farm Worker Overtime
From: Your Name and Farm Name
Re: Support for Farmworker Overtime
Co Chairs Holvey and Taylor, and Members of the Joint Committee on Farm Worker Overtime,
My name is _______________, and I live in_________ and/or I am writing on behalf of myself and my farm, [farm name] in [farm location].
I am writing to you today in support of farmworker overtime. Farmworkers should receive overtime pay after 40 hours in a workweek at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay. As a farmer I know this will impact agriculture as a whole in Oregon, but it is our responsibility to move our sector forward.
[In this section, share why you care about farmworkers and why they should receive overtime pay. Also share how/if this policy will personally impact your farm business and how you plan to adapt]
I urge you to pass farmworker overtime in the 2022 Legislative Session to ensure farmworkers in Oregon are paid fairly for their skilled and essential labor.
Sincerely,
Name
Position Title/Role
Farm Name
If you are looking for some more talking points to make your case, feel free to take inspiration from or use the following talking points from the campaign.
KEY MESSAGES: These key messages from our farmworker overtime coalition can be used
Equality and Justice:
- Farmworkers deserve dignity, respect and labor rights. For too long they have been denied rights other workers have been afforded.
- Farmworkers have been excluded from the minimum wage protections, child labor laws, and overtime pay since the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
- Farmworkers are not second-class workers and deserve the same rights as the rest of workers. Farmworkers deserve to be treated humanely.
Health and Wellness:
- Overtime pay law was created to discourage employers from overworking employees
- Before 1938, employers overworked workers even to the point of death
- Extending overtime pay protections to farmworkers will create better health conditions and a longer life for farmworkers.
Quality of Life:
- Exclusion from overtime pay requires farmworkers to work many hours without having time to do other things.
- Overtime pay would give farmworkers more time outside of work.
- Farmworkers should be able to spend more time with their families or tend to other responsibilities, instead of spending most of their life at work.
Economic:
- Farmworkers deserve a living wage to pay for their living expenses.
- Farmworkers are some of the lowest paid workers in Oregon with a median income of $28,000 a year. Farmworkers who put food on our table should be able to put food on their own table and make enough money to do so.
- Overtime pay would extend to Oregon’s 86,389 farmworkers (OSU enumeration study).
THANK YOU FOR JOINING OUR COLLECTIVE VOICE AND TAKING ACTION!