Well this won’t sell her brand upstate.
Assemblyman Chris Tague (R-Schoharie) says Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is a “political hack” because she’s backing new rules allowing farm workers to get overtime pay after 40 hours per week — a move that could shoot produce prices even higher amid historic inflation.
“She’s an out of touch, uninformed, agriculturally uneducated political hack & radical Dems wont be satisfied until theyve completely destroyed NYS, America, our food security, & ability to feed the world. Food security is strength,” Tague tweeted Friday.
The criticism, for which a Hochul spokeswoman declined to comment, follows reports that Hochul was expected to eventually approve lowering of the overtime threshold for agricultural workers from 60 to 40 hours over the course of a decade.
Opponents say giving farm workers more overtime pay would be too costly for farmers, who often struggle to be competitive in national and international marketplaces.
“After just this week shafting small businesses with NYS’s debt, @GovKathyHochul is intent on destroying agriculture in this state. Farmers cannot afford the rising costs or regulations she & other Democrats (like my opponent) are all too willing to shift onto the backs of farmers,” Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, who is running for Congress, tweeted in response to Tague.
New York has about 30,000 farms, including more than 3,000 dairies, which generate billions in economic activity annually while making the Empire State a top producer of products like yogurt, cottage cheese and sour cream.
Some research suggests New York producers would remain economically viable even if their seasonal laborers worked with overtime rules like other professions
More than 50,000 people would get pay boosts ranging from $34 to $95 per week, according to a 2019 policy brief by the left-leaning Fiscal Policy Institute.
“Better pay would make workers easier to attract and easier to retain, a very significant challenge for farm owners, particularly at a time of increasing restrictions on immigration. Lower turnover also means lower training costs and more experienced workers,” reads the analysis.
A tax credit included in the recently-passed state budget would help agricultural businesses meet new OT costs at an estimated cost of $130 million to the state.
A three-member Farm Wage Board recommended is expected to deliver final recommendations on lowering the OT threshold to 40 hours to state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon in September.
Reardon will then have 45 days to make a final decision. A 60-day public comment period would be part of an official rule making process before new OT rules might begin taking hold around 2024.
The impending decision for the Hochul administration comes as the governor runs for a full term in office in the Nov. 8 election against Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Suffolk).
Hochul expressed confidence Friday that a mix of tax credits and time would assuage critics while the push continues to get higher overtime wages for workers despite fierce criticism from some farmers and Republicans like Tague.
“We have figured out the right answer to lift up people and make sure they get paid for the hard work they do. I met some of the workers and God bless them,” Hochul said after touting an upstate dairy Friday.
