farmworkers
Farmers and growers seek leeway under new agriculture overtime law
Agricultural workers in Washington will attain a historic milestone next month when, for the first time in state history, they will earn overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week. The achievement is the result of 2021 legislation negotiated by labor advocates, agricultural producers and lawmakers that erased language in state […]
Crime, taxes and artificial intelligence on tap as WA lawmakers prep for session
Rising costs of transportation projects. Using artificial intelligence in Washington classrooms. Preserving affordable housing. Spending proceeds from the state’s new capital gains tax and recent cap-and-trade auctions. Those are a few topics state lawmakers will delve into when they return to Olympia for committee days, an annual fete in which they get schooled on issues […]
Hundreds of fruit packers in Washington and Oregon take union vote this week
More than 350 apple, pear and cherry packers at three facilities in Washington and Oregon will decide this week whether to unionize. It’s among the first and largest unionization efforts among fruit packers in the region in years, according to Kristina Storm, director of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 3000, the union that employees […]
Yakima orchard owners settle yearslong lawsuit, paying $500K in back wages
The owners of two Yakima orchards have paid $500,000 in back wages to over 400 farmworkers, settling a yearslong lawsuit brought by the state. The settlement comes after a Department of Labor and Industries investigation found that workers at G&G Orchards Inc. and RC Orchards LLC weren’t paid properly for the fruit they harvested between […]