President. on behalf of myself. and my distinguished colleague. the junior Senator from New York . I introduce. for appropriate reference. a bill to require the compulsory registration of crew leaders who deal with the estimated 850.000 migratory agricultural workers in the United States. This administration measure. called the Crew Leader Registration Act of 1959. provides that any person who. for a fee. engages in recruiting. hiring. or transporting of three or more migrant workers for interstate agricultural employment must obtain a certificate of registration from the Secretary of Labor. subject to renewal every year. The U.S. Department of Labor. which drafted this measure. reports there is increasing evidence that the channels of interstate commerce are being used by irresponsible crew leaders to spread the exploitation and abuse of our migratory agricultural workers. more than 400.000 of whom are of U.S. origin. including over 20.000 from Puerto Rico. while most of the remaining number are from Mexico and the British West Indies. Since these workers are very often dependent upon their crew leaders for transportation. employment. and adequate housingand frequently receive their pay. which ranges between 40 cents and $1 an hour in most States. from these leadersthe desirability of making arrangements between crew chiefs and their crews a matter of record is obvious. According to the Presidents Commission on Migratory Labor. where there are abuses. the most common ones practiced by crew leaders include failure to pay workers the full amount received from a farmer for their labor. charging a crew for transporting them to a job although the farmer himself is actually assuming that cost. loaning money to crew members at exorbitant rates of interest. and renting living quarters and similar facilities to the workers where. in reality. the expense is being assumed by the employer. Under the terms of the Crew Leader Registration Act of 1959. every effort would be made to curb such exploitation by requiring that the approximately 10.000 crew leaders involved in migratory agricultural employment file information covering conduct and methods of operation on the job. their financial responsibility. transportation. wage arrangements. housing. and other working conditions concerning migrant workers in each crew. as required by the Secretary of Labor. The Secretary may refuse to issue. may suspend. revoke. or refuse to renew a registration certificate on the ground that the crew leader has been convicted of a felony. been guilty of misrepresentation in application for a certificate. knowingly given false information to his crew concerning conditions of employment. failed to comply with the reported working arrangement for the crew. or failed to comply with the act or any regulations issued under it. Any willful violator of the act is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of $500. or imprisonment for a period of not more than 6 months. or both. Migrant workers are the subject of deep concern of employers as well as all people in the United States. This administration measure is the result of very thorough research on the subject. I hope very much that the bill may have favorable and early action by the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. as well as by the Senate.
Keywords matched
migrant Migrant