New WA Labor Rights Bill Will Hurt Ag, Drive Up Food Prices, One Senator Says

Legislation introduced by state senator Rebecca Saldaña at the start of the Washington legislative session would give agricultural workers statewide the right to organize and negotiate their working conditions, via collective bargaining.

How Seasonal Strikes Could Devastate WA Harvests

Many in the farming community say Senate Bill 6045 would be detrimental to the farming industry statewide. State Senator Ron Muzzall says this proposal defines the disconnect that exists between Olympia and the farm sector.

“In an industry that is seasonal, at what point in time do you think that they're going to choose to strike? They're going to choose to strike either when it needs to be planted or it needs to be harvested," Muzzall said.

"That's why the majority of states don't allow this. This is why this is such a bad idea, because their impact, their ability to force a contract negotiation because of the seasonality of agriculture makes it really unfair legislation.”

Read More: Ag Groups Sound Alarm About Farming Future

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Muzzall Says Farmers Could Stop Growing Crops Under SB 6045

Muzzall, a member of the senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committee, added supporters of SB 6045 that think this legislation will benefit employees are mistaken.

“What we are going to see is we're going to see those farms just stop raising those crops. and they don't understand the long-term ramifications of that," Muzzall said.  "And that is; one, the price of food's going to go up, and two, we're going to be importing it from countries or states that don't have that requirement.”

Muzzall added while this proposal may seem fringe now, his concern is that after a few legislative sessions, such an idea will become more mainstream. Read more about SB 6045.

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