OPINION: Fairness to farm workers

Two bills meant to help Florida's farm workers are being treated unfairly in Tallahassee, much the way farm workers themselves have been throughout the state's history. With a wink and nod from House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, Rep. Marsha Bowen, R-Winter Haven, has so far neither given the bills a fair hearing nor allowed them to be withdrawn from the Agriculture Committee she chairs. The maneuvering by Bowen - whose occupation is "agribusiness" - represents special-interest politics at its worst and compounds the legislature's shameful record on issues of farm worker health and rights.

Both bills are co-sponsored by Rep. Frank Peterman, D-St. Petersburg, who has shown admirable energy in fighting to better the lives of farm workers. The first bill (HB 1253) would require growers to tell workers about the pesticides being used on the property, reviving a state law that expired in 1998. It has won support from other committees in both the House and Senate and has a chance to become law - if only Byrd and Bowen would not stand in the way. Peterman's second bill (HB 1327) would hold growers responsible, in state courts, for ensuring that their labor contractors pay the minimum wage to workers they hire. The bill has not been taken up in either chamber, and its prospects look grim.

Those who think that farm workers already are sufficiently protected from the dangers of pesticides should think again. A recent study, conducted in part by researchers from Florida Atlantic University, found widespread pesticide exposure among workers, including those in Hillsborough County. Ten percent of farm workers interviewed said they had been directly sprayed with pesticides while working in the fields, and more than half said airplanes or tractors applied pesticides at the same time they toiled in adjacent fields. Few reported receiving training on pesticide dangers, while most wore little, if any, protective clothing.

Fair wages, like pesticide safety, continue to elude most Florida farm workers as well. For too many, the system amounts to slavery. Three Florida contractors were found guilty in federal court last year of enslaving farm workers, but most crew chiefs who cheat workers do so with impunity. Growers often know about - but do nothing to stop - the thievery taking place on their property.

Peterman's bills would do much to bring safety and justice to Florida's farm workers. Like the powerless group they were filed to protect, they deserve the chance to be heard.

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