Page 133 - MFB State Annual Meeting 2018 -- RESOLUTIONS BOOK

55 NLRA.
56 The family farm exemption in the Migrant and
57 Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act is being
58 eroded by the expansion of the terms “recruitment” and
59 “transportation.” We oppose the inclusion of gratuitous
60 referrals and transportation in the course of employment
61 when the vehicle is not driven by a family member, in
62 the determination of whether the family farm exemption
63 applies.
64 We support the standardization of the definition of
65 agriculture and farm work for all state/federal labor-
66 related legislation to include the work activity described
67 by the North American Industrial Classification System
68 (NAICS), sector 11.
69 The NAICS code reflects modern agriculture
70 practices and is now used by the agricultural census
71 and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and
72 Health as the description more accurately reflects
73 current agricultural organizational structures.
74 We uphold the right of farm workers to join, not join,
75 or resign from a union by their own convictions.
76 We oppose efforts by purchasers of farm
77 commodities to force farmers to legally recognize and
78 negotiate with specific labor organizations. We oppose
79 purchasers of farm commodities enticing farm workers
80 to join unions by paying the union dues for the workers.
81 We strongly oppose third party organization
82 attempts to force organized labor negotiations between
83 farmers and farm workers.
84 MFB will continue to investigate a fee-based service
85 to obtain qualified interpreters for use during
86 Department of Labor inspections and other purposes.
87 MFB’s Agricultural Labor and Safety Services publishes
88 a guide listing rights and responsibilities for employers
89 and employees before and during these inspections.
90 MFB should continue participating in recruiting
91 efforts to ensure an adequate and legal agricultural
92 work force in Michigan. Recruiting methods and
93 programs currently being used should be evaluated for
94 effectiveness. Efforts should be ongoing to more
95 effectively encourage workers to come to Michigan.
96 We support the concept of an inmate vocational
97 training program in cooperation with Michigan Works or
98 other educational institutions to provide non-violent
99 inmates the skills to be re-introduced to the work force
100 through the agricultural industry.
101 We support MFB efforts through the Great Lakes Ag
102 Labor Services to assist growers in navigating the
103 cumbersome H-2A program. We encourage expansion
104 into other viable visa worker programs. We support this
State Policies – Page 47