Folks, gather ’round! We’ve got a real treat for you today. It seems that a federal judge in Kentucky, Danny Reeves, has decided to block the Biden administration’s attempt to give agricultural workers on H-2A visas a bit of a leg up. You know, those poor sods who come to the States to pick our fruit and veggies for pennies on the dollar.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a bunch of foreigners taking our jobs!” Ah, but that’s not exactly the point, is it? The point is that these workers were going to get some additional protections against their employers, you know, the kind that would make sure they don’t get, say, poisoned by pesticides or forced to work 12-hour days without a loo break.
But fear not, dear farmers of Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Alabama! Judge Reeves has saved the day by ruling that the Department of Labor’s rules would require congressional approval. I mean, who needs worker protections when you’ve got the sacred institution of Congress to slow things down?
Attorney General Russell Coleman from Kentucky was over the moon with the decision, saying that the rule was “illegal and unnecessary” and would have put farmers out of business. Ah, come on, mate! You can’t seriously be suggesting that ensuring workers’ rights is bad for business? That’s like saying that paying taxes is bad for the economy! (Oh wait, that’s what some people do say, isn’t it?)
Coleman did, however, have a point when he said that the H-2A Visa Program has allowed farmers to hire foreign workers when they can’t find available Americans to fill the jobs. You know, the old “nobody wants to work for minimum wage in the blistering sun” problem. I mean, who needs a social safety net when you can just import some desperate foreigners to do the dirty work?
Now, as a comedian, I love a good bit of irony. And this case has it in spades. I mean, can you imagine the looks on the faces of those Republican attorneys general when they realized they were fighting to limit the rights of workers while simultaneously decrying the lack of available American labor? It’s like trying to argue that the chicken is somehow responsible for laying a dud egg.
The real tragedy here, folks, is that this ruling only applies to four states. Imagine the country-wide chaos if workers everywhere started demanding rights and safety on the job! The horror! The humanity! (Sorry, had to.)
Anyway, that’s the story. Who knew that protecting workers’ rights could be so, well, contentious? Do tell, dear readers, what do you think about this whole mess? Should we let the poor blighters have their rights, or should we stick to the good old days of Dickensian working conditions?
A federal judge in Kentucky, Danny Reeves, has dealt a significant blow to the Biden administration’s efforts to expand protections for agricultural workers on H-2A visas, blocking the new rules in a decision that will have far-reaching implications for farmers and migrant workers in four states.
The injunction, which applies to Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Alabama, was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of Kentucky farmers and Republican attorneys general from the four states, who argued that the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new rules would unfairly allow foreign agricultural workers to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. The plaintiffs contended that such a move would require congressional approval, and Judge Reeves ultimately agreed, ruling in their favor.
At the heart of the dispute are new rules proposed by the DOL aimed at providing additional legal protections for agricultural workers on H-2A visas, including safeguards against employer retaliation, unsafe working conditions, and illegal recruiting practices. However, the judge’s decision has effectively blocked the implementation of these rules in the four states, pending further review.
In a strongly worded statement, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman hailed the decision as a victory for farmers, labeling the new regulation “illegal and unnecessary” and warning that it would have caused “serious and irreversible harm” to farmers in the state who are “just trying to survive and put food on Kentucky tables.”
Coleman also criticized the new regulation for imposing a “new set of guidelines” on farmers, including a requirement that they allow temporary foreign migrant workers to participate in collective bargaining, which he argued would have been a significant burden on farmers. “We should be working to help Kentucky farmers, not put them out of business,” he emphasized.
The H-2A Visa Program, which has been in place since 1986, was established to allow farmers to hire foreign workers temporarily when they are unable to find available Americans to fill jobs. The program has been a vital lifeline for many farmers, who rely on the influx of temporary workers to meet the demands of their agricultural operations.
While the judge’s decision has significant implications for farmers and migrant workers in the four states, it is worth noting that the ruling does not block the federal rules nationwide, limiting its impact to only the four states and the plaintiffs involved in the case.
