The new laws Gov. Jeb Bush proposed Monday could improve life for Florida farm workers, but the package overlooks the economic reality that underpins this shameful working environment. Cracking down on crew chiefs who harm their workers is a key part of any solution, but so is penalizing the growers, who - more than anyone - are responsible for the workers' living conditions. This legislation, for all of its strengths, does not take away the financial incentive to exploit and mistreat migrant workers.
Give the governor credit. His proposal tries to address a human rights problem that has long been ignored by previous administrations. Bush wants to raise the criminal and civil penalties for crew chiefs who put farm workers at serious risk. Making an example of abusive farm labor contractors, the middlemen hired by the growers to put workers in the field, is the first step toward providing workers with fair pay and decent housing. The shadowy place crew chiefs occupy in the production chain makes it difficult for authorities to stop the most routine abuses, from extorting workers to forcing them into unsafe conditions.
The legislation would also improve the way the state oversees farm labor practices. Agencies responsible for inspecting working and living conditions would coordinate their efforts. Farms would be subject to more spot checks and workers would have an easier time making complaints. Workers would be warned when exposed to pesticide, and the state would reactivate a commission to monitor farm workers' concerns. The state would almost quadruple, to $275, the price of a crew chief license, which officials hope would weed away the fly-by-night middlemen. Crew chiefs convicted of smuggling, prostitution or violent crime could have their licenses permanently revoked.
The progress stops there. The threat of jail time may be a headline grabber, but it's unlikely that hard-pressed state attorneys will have the time or enough corroborating evidence to build many criminal cases. Increasing the fines up to $2,500 is hardly a disincentive for crew chiefs to clean up their act. Florida's $7-billion agriculture industry is so dependent on the weather and migrant labor that crew chiefs will do almost anything to see that crops are harvested in time. The governor has promised expanded enforcement - how much and where is unclear. The state has 16 inspectors, and does not plan to hire any more. Even if the state doubled the number of crew chiefs inspected, thousands more could operate under the radar, taking advantage of their newfound competitiveness in providing cheap labor.
By calling attention to farm labor abuses early in the legislative session, Bush has forced lawmakers to confront a problem they have ignored for years. He sent the wrong message by giving the industry gratuitous praise, saying the "vast majority" of crew chiefs "operate well within the law." This is not, as Bush said, about a "few wrongdoers." The governor's own statistics show that of the 374 crew chiefs inspected since July, the state found 270 violations, an increase of 156 percent over the same period last year. The violations ranged in severity, but they speak to the need for more aggressive steps to protect the people who harvest our crops.
The agency that oversees farm labor is credited with taking a stronger stand in recent years, and workers' advocates say Bush's plan will help if the state follows through and funds enforcement. But changing the behavior of the crew chiefs will require capturing the growers' attention - they are the ones, after all, demanding cheap labor. Forcing work to stop on a seasonal harvest, or imposing fines for abuses that benefit growers, will remove this phony wall of culpability. Lawmakers keep talking about accountability. Let them extend it to Florida's second largest industry.
