Farmworker overtime bill advances; How did local lawmakers vote?

The California Assembly passed a bill Monday 44-32 to expand overtime pay for farmworkers, with one Sonoma Valley legislator voting no and two others abstaining.

Marc Levine, whose District 10 includes the City of Sonoma, El Verano and parts south, was one of four state assemblymembers that did not participate in the vote. Another was James Wood, of District 2, which includes Kenwood.

Assemblymember Bill Dodd, who now represents the Springs but is running for State Senate District 3 in November, voted no. His opponent, former assemblymember and State Senate 3 candidate Mariko Yamada, condemned the action in a statement released today.

“Notably, my opponent Assemblyman Bill Dodd once again sided with wealthy agricultural interests and voted against farm workers and their families,” Yamada said. “One thing is clear, California deserves better leadership.”

Authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), the bill will ultimately allow for overtime pay after 8 hours, rather than 10, for some 825,000 workers. The new rules will be phased in over four-year period beginning in 2019.

The 44-32 vote sends the bill to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not indicated if he will sign it into law.

For 78 years, farm workers have been excluded from basic overtime protections afforded to every other group of California workers, Yamada said. “Roughly 30 percent of households with farm worker income are below the poverty line, and 73 percent earn less than 200 percent of poverty,” she said.

The United Farm Workers association sponsored the bill. It was opposed by prominent business groups, led by the California Farm Bureau Federation.

At issue: will workers actually see better pay, or will they have simply have their hours cut by farm owners saving those overtime dollars?

“I challenge Assemblymember Dodd to work a day in the fields with me, so he can experience the realities of this backbreaking work,” said Yamada, who was termed out of the Assembly in 2014 after three terms.