NEWSLETTER
The number of workers employed by farm labor contractors in California
has risen steadily over time, particularly since the late 1980s.
The University of California Agricultural Personnel Management
Program recently published a study based on interviews of a diverse
set of 11 FLCs selected informally through referrals from UC Farm
Advisors and the phone book. Ten of their grower-employers were
also interviewed. Author Dawn Thilmany concluded "there
are some FLCs who operate reputable, successful agribusiness firms."
The growers interviewed stressed their foremost reason for hiring
FLCs is the increasing regulatory load, with the 1986 Immigration
Reform and Control Act perhaps the "last straw" leading
them to transfer seasonal labor responsibilities, potential liability,
and paperwork to FLCs. All ten growers mentioned the good working
relationship they had developed with a particular FLC.
A theme expressed by FLCs was the increased office costs and workload
associated with record-keeping and other regulatory requirements.
All but one of the FLCs had enlarged their office staff over
the past 5 years. Office staff of the 11 FLC businesses ranged
from 2 to 35 employees (some part-time or seasonal).
Only one FLC mentioned worker supply as a reason their clients
used FLCs. Although one FLC claimed that most of the Special
Agricultural Workers who were granted legal status by IRCA had
exited agriculture, another FLC claimed there were now too many
workers.
The FLCs represented all of California's major agricultural valleys
and a variety of crops. Their number of grower clients ranged
from 3 to 110; the number of workers hired, from 25 to 3,500;
and their payroll, from $7 million to less than $100,000. The
largest FLC employers operated in the Salinas Valley. "Inclusive"
commission rates (including payroll taxes) ranged from 33 to 40
percent.
The competitive environment for FLCs differs markedly among regions
and crops. In some situations, lower "cut-rate" FLCs
win out, while those offering more service and responsibility
to growers lose contracts. In other cases, those with reputations
for dependable service, quality work, and careful compliance with
regulations successfully bid grower contracts.
Business relationships between growers and FLCs are still quite
informal. Five of the 11 FLCs contracted only verbally. However
the use of written contracts between growers and FLCs is increasing.
Three of the 11 FLCs now put all agreements with growers in writing.
A Fresno FLC argued that all participants in the farm labor market
would be better off with fewer, but better enforced labor laws.
He was among nine of the 11 FLCs interviewed who had experienced
multi-agency labor law inspections in 1993, but didn't receive
any fines or citations. Another FLC, with worksites along major
Monterey County roadways, was visited by enforcement teams three
times in one year. She also escaped penalties and citations.
Three of the nine, however, did get citations, and three received
warnings in 1993. Violations involved child labor, unsanitary
field sanitation facilities, and improper completion of INS Form
I-9 to verify employment eligibility.
For the complete report entitled An Analysis of Contract
Relationships between Farm Labor Contractors and Farmers in California
Agriculture, Publication APMP004, send $1.75, payable to "UC
Regents," to UC Communication Services ñ Publications,
6701 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, CA 94608-1239.
FREE TB SKIN TESTS ... Agricultural employers may wish
to inform employees that free walk-in TB skin tests are available
at the Fresno County Health Department, 1221 Fulton Mall, north
of Fresno Street in Fresno, from 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m.
on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. For information in Spanish
or English, call (209) 445-3413. For bilingual information about
TB testing services in other counties, call 1-800-789-9993.
Tuberculosis, a disease usually affecting the lungs, can be easily
spread from person to person through the air. General symptoms
include weakness, weight loss, fever, night sweats, cough, or
chest pain. An upswing in this public health problem has occurred
in recent years, particularly among the nation's often foreign-born
Hispanic population.
HAND WEEDING STILL LEGAL ... In June, SB 587, prohibiting
hand weeding of crops, failed by a 16-19 vote in the California
Senate. The bill would have prohibited agricultural employers
from evading the ban on short-handled, less-than-4-foot hoes and
other tools by taking them away from workers, and directing them
to hand weed.
Evidently, Cal/OSHA officers had cited several agricultural employers
for using short-handled hoes, only to find workers later weeding
by hand, and were unable to cite them for this even greater back-safety
hazard. SB 587 provided a means to secure hand-weeding exemptions
in nursery, organic, and other crops. The bill's sponsor, California
Rural Legal Assistance, will likely bring the bill up for Senate
vote again in January.