As they do every year, tree fruit growers and industry officials will visit Olympia next week to bend the ear of Washington lawmakers on issues they consider critical.
This year, bargaining rights for cannabis workers, unemployment for striking employees and a seasonal reprieve from overtime mandates are among their concerns.
Tuesday, Jan. 28, is the annual Tree Fruit Day at the Capitol building in Olympia. Organized by the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, the main advocacy group for the state’s tree fruit industry, the event brings groups of growers and association staff to fan out across the campus and plead their cases.
There is still time to join the contingency for the trip, said Jon DeVaney, WSTFA president. For more information or to register, go to: https://wstfa.org/tree-fruit-day.
Take a look at a few of the hot tree fruit topics in this year’s legislative session:
—Senate Bill 5041 would allow striking or locked-out workers to collect unemployment benefits. WSTFA opposes the bill, arguing it would drive up the cost of the state’s already expensive unemployment benefit programs and encourage strikes, which could be particularly harmful to tree fruit growers dealing with a perishable product.
—House Bill 1141 would extend collective bargaining rights to cannabis workers. WSTFA opposes, calling it a first step toward extending bargaining to all farmworkers in the state. Federal law exempts farm work from many labor rights of other jobs, including collective bargain. Washington’s cannabis industry is regulated solely by the state and is still prohibited under federal law.
—House Bill 1597 would create a seasonality clause to the state’s overtime law. WSTFA supports the bill, which would allow growers to carve out 12 weeks of peak activity to pay time-and-a-half for work beyond 50 hours, instead of the 40-hour cap currently required year-round.
—WSTFA is asking lawmakers to preserve $30 million that was set aside to reimburse farmers who have paid the fuel surcharge under the Climate Commitment Act, which promised to exempt on-farm fuel.
—WSTFA supports full legislative funding for several Washington State University agricultural research requests, including $10 million for a new plant growth facility at the Wenatchee Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center.
—WSTFA supports full funding of Washington State Department of Agriculture’s $2.5 million request, which includes funding to continue the association’s Agricultural Leadership Program.
For those who can’t attend the event, DeVaney encourages members to sign up for WSTFA’s email updates, which give instructions for how to sign on pro or con for a bill online.
—by Ross Courtney
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