Adam Navarro: Farming hugely profitable, so pay workers OT they deserve

A bill is coming up in the state Assembly, AB 1066, guaranteeing farmworkers equal overtime pay. While similar bills have failed in the past based on concerns that California’s agriculture is different from other industries, upon closer examination some of these concerns fall apart. Some propose that any increase in labor costs would push growers into financially unfeasible situations. According to the latest study from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, profits from California’s agriculture are at an all-time high with an output estimated at $54 billion in 2014.

The instability of California agriculture isn’t affecting growers’ ability to make more profit than they ever have, even while experiencing persistent drought.

If growers won’t cover the increased costs of paying employees overtime equal to workers in other industries, according to farm labor economist Philip Martin of UC Davis, an increase in labor costs associated with increased wages for farmworkers could be covered by the average household paying a few extra pennies every time they visit a grocery store. It’s long overdue that California’s farmworkers be guaranteed the dignity and respect other workers in other industries are afforded without being given poor arguments about its infeasibility.

This story was originally published August 15, 2016 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Adam Navarro: Farming hugely profitable, so pay workers OT they deserve."