Speech #860107225

Some are paid according to the number of workers they recruit and deliver. Others are paid by being given a concession to manage the housing facilities. or the commissary privileges. or a contract to haul produce from the farm to the packing shed. The bill defines the term "migrant agricultural labor contractor" so as to include those persons who perform any of the major functions now customary. Excluded from my definition are Federal and State employment agencies. foremen or supervisors who are employed on a permanent basis. and nonprofit organizations which engage in some of the functions described above. The essence of the bill is that is seeks by registration requirements to eliminate the relatively few migrant labor contractors who are dishonest and immoral. and who exploit migrant workers and growers. Some labor contractors exploit the workers by misleading promises of high paying employment. when they know such employment does not exist. The bill seeks to end this practice. by making such misrepresentation a ground for revocation or refusal of a license. by requiring all representations concerning farm employment to be reduced to writing. and by requiring the migrant labor contractor who seeks registration to disclose the names and addresses of those who were in his crew in former years. The Secretary of Labor is thus afforded easy opportunity to ascertain whether the migrant labor contractor has engaged in exploitation. Some migrant agricultural labor contractors exploit their crews by promising cheap or free transportation. housing. or commissary services. when. in fact. the crew member. once signed up. is charged high prices for these services. The bill requires that the prices for these services be made known in advance. and in writing. Misrepresentations can then be easily proven. and the license revoked. Some migrant agricultural labor contractors mislead the members of their crew as to the hours worked. the amount produced. and the wages due them. Disputes generally are won by the migrant labor contractor. because agreements are oral. Some migrant agricultural labor contractors withhold social security payments from the wages of their crew members. and then pocket them. Some do not pay their crew members when their wages are due. and some leave shortly before the last payday of the season. and leave their crew members broke and stranded. This bill requires labor contractors who make payments to keep accurate accounts and to pay each worker the amount due him. Failure to comply will be ground for revocation or refusal to renew a license. Some migrant agricultural labor contractors transport their crew in trucks dangerous to the occupants and to others who use the highway. The bill seeks to solve this problem by requiring all labor contractors. prior to licensing. to produce evidence that their vehicles are insured. Some migrant labor contractors purposely recruit wetbacks. and the latter. being here illegally. can be exploited without danger of protest. Some crew leaders. for a cut of the profits. bring professional prostitutes and gamblers to the camps under their control. and permit the sale of habitforming drugs. This bill makes all of these activities a reason for revoking or refusing to issue a license. Some labor contractors exploit the growers by leaving them high and dry when the easy and profitable work is done. For example. a migrant labor contractor may agree to pick all the growers apples on a piecerate basis. When the apples at the bottom of the trees are picked. the workers must then use ladderswhich reduces the productivity of the laborers and the profits of the labor contractor. since he often is paid according to the amount of work done by those in his crew. The contractor then breaches his contract. and moves on. This makes it difficult for the grower to get the rest of his apples picked. and may result in financial stress. The bill requires revocation of a migrant labor contractors license when this occurs. Enforcement of this provision is made easy. by requiring the applicant in each annual application to list the names and addresses of the farmers with wh6m he contracted in the past two seasons. Mr.