Speech #970245287

Speaker. we have come to the end of a long road. Today. I ask that my colleagues support H.R. 7102. the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Protection Act. This bill represents months of negotiations and compromise between the interested partiesthe agricultural employers and the agricultural workers. Both sides realized the many problems that exist under the current statutethe Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act. Problems such as: uneven enforcement. conflicting definitions. and needless registration. Both parties also realize that. in order to adequately insure that the protections afforded migrant and seasonal workers under this or any act. you must tie the responsibility for protecting the workers to the person which has the ability to correct the hazard or control the abuse. This bill. for the first time. takes that step. Through the use of the concept of "jointemployer" the agricultural employer or association will. for the first time. be responsible for the protection of the workers. No longer must the migrant workers look solely to the crewleader for relief. As I stated on September 14. to open a hearing on H.R. 7102: We have attempted to establish certainty during these long negotiations. That is also the goal of the administrations bill. It will determine "who is responsible for the protections and duties available under the act." with the answer. "he or she who provides the service or employs the workerfarm labor contractor or nothas the duty to protect the workers." Certainty will benefit all parties. Agricultural employers will be relieved of the excessive burdens of FLCRA and will for the first time be sure of their duties to migrant workers. Agricultural employees will in turn. know who is responsible for their protections. by fixing the responsibility on those who ultimately benefit from their laborsthe agricultural employer. Unions. likewise. will be assured for the first time that they will not fall within the coverage of an ever increasing maze of conflicting definitions which characterize the current law. All of the problems of the migrant workers in this country will not disappear after this bill becomes law. Today. as always. exploitation. poor housing. and abuse all to often go hand in hand with the backbreaking work performed by the agricultural worker. As this bill is put into place. I will continue to use the Subcommittee on Labor Standards oversight authority to investigate the effect of these changes on the lives of the migrant worker and to look for ways to insure a better quality of life for these workers and their families. I wish to commend all the parties that have worked on this act including the ranking minority member of my subcommittee and cosponsor of this bill. Mr.