San Antonio Standard

WASHINGTON – On July 27, Representatives Greg Casar (TX-35), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), and Mark Pocan (WI-02), are introducing a package of pro-worker, pro-farmer bills that will be introduced as amendments to the 2023 Farm Bill. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.  

VIDEO: Press Conference introducing the bills

“Our food system used to work better – everyday consumers saw lower prices, and small farmers and ranchers were taken care of. But in the last few decades, there’s been a huge concentration of power amongst the biggest companies, who are making enormous profits at the expense of workers, local farmers, ranchers, and consumers,” said Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas). “These two bills take that on and say, ‘We need a food system that works for everyone.’ Whether you’re working in a food processing plant, making your living as a small farmer, or buying food at the grocery store – our food system shouldn’t just be going to huge corporate profits.” 

"Small and family farms and the workers who support them are at the heart of Vermont's economy and culture. Without them, Vermont wouldn't be the place we know and love,” said Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT). “But the wellbeing and vitality of farms across America is under threat from big corporations and farm consolidation. We can't let that happen. That's why I support these bills, which include commonsense safeguards to protect small farms, farmworkers, and the products produced here in Vermont.” 

“Lack of competition has corrupted the entire food supply chain: from seed and fertilizer production to big agribusinesses that drive out small family farms and force workers to endure egregious conditions. This is unacceptable,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).“We must reverse these disturbing trends and cultivate a food and farm system that works for everyone.”

“Bad actors in the agricultural and meatpacking industries have harmed workers with no consequences for too long,” said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI). “Bills like the Agricultural Worker Justice Act need to be included in the 2023 Farm Bill to ensure these companies abide by the laws protecting the workers who feed us. This bill gives the government comprehensive tools to crack down on unsafe slaughterhouse practices, prohibit violators from USDA contracts, and stop greedy companies from buying back stock. By enforcing worker safety standards and not rewarding bad actors with lucrative government contracts, we can incentivize safer working conditions for every food production worker, which is a critical step toward a more just food system for all.”

What Supporting Organizations Are Saying:

“Farmwork is among the most dangerous and stigmatized jobs in the United States,” said Isidoro Quezada, board member of the Family Farm Defenders and small producer in Texas. “They are considered essential workers, but lack the protection and recognition they deserve. These bills are important steps to give workers the protection they deserve and in addition the opportunity to move up the ladder to become farmers themselves.” 

“Decades of 'get big or get out' farm policies have allowed huge corporations to stack the deck against farmers, ranchers, workers, and consumers,” said Joe Van Wye, Policy and Outreach Director at Farm Action Fund. “Now is the time to take a strong stand against consolidated corporate agriculture to promote competition and defend workers’ rights in the 2023 farm bill. We thank Representatives Casar, Pocan, and Blumenauer, as well as Senator Welch, for the bold proposals introduced today and look forward to working with them to shift power back to the people who put food on America's tables.”

“As long as corporations and large commodity groups dictate the contents of U.S. farm bills, antitrust laws will never be enforced, and there will never be fair, competitive markets for family farmers, fishermen, ranchers and workers who support the economies and protect the environment of the communities and consumers they sustain,” said Dena Hoff, board member of the National Family Farm Coalition and an organic farmer in Montana. “Having a bill like the Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers and Ranchers Actlimit that influence and return small producers that power.” 

“National Farmers Union is happy to support the Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers & Ranchers Act,” said Rob Larew, President of National Farmers Union (NFU). “Through our Fairness for Farmers campaign, NFU has been fighting for a more competitive and fairer farm economy and a farm bill that promotes competition. We’re going to work with Rep. Casar to push this bill forward.” 

“The Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers & Ranchers Act is one of the few pieces of legislation being introduced in this Congress that fully meets the challenge of runaway corporate concentration and power abuse in the food system,” said Aaron Johnson, Senior Program Manager, RAFI-USA Challenging Corporate Power Program. “In directing the FTC and DOJ to retroactively review and unwind past agribusiness mega-mergers, the Act strikes at one of the most important core problems facing our nation's farmers and ranchers: unchecked corporate power. Additionally, this legislation's detailed new proposals for reforming the poultry industry's contracting provisions would put an end to unfair tournament systems and at long last ensure fair contracts for poultry growers. This is the kind of decisive action that farmers and ranchers in the U.S. deserve.” 

“I’m proud that agricultural workers like me are what keep this country fed and running. Make no mistake, over the course of the pandemic, we saw just how vulnerable our essential food supply chains are and how essential agricultural workers like me are,” said Michael Jones, Buckhead Meat Worker & UFCW Local 400 Member. “These two key pieces of legislation would provide meaningful progress for workers like me. If we want to protect our food supply chain, we must protect its workers.”

Agricultural Worker Justice Act (Bill Text)

The Agricultural Worker Justice Act would stop big corporations from continuing to take advantage of American workers by requiring decent wages and safe working conditions if major food companies want to continue to do business with the federal government. 

The Agricultural Worker Justice Act is sponsored by Representatives Greg Casar (TX-35), Mark Pocan (WI-02), and co-sponsored by RepresentativesAlma Adams (NC-12), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Cori Bush (MO-01), Andre Carson (IN-07), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Chris Deluzio(PA-17), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), John Garamendi (CA-08), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (GA-04), James McGovern (MA-02), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(NY-14), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Juan Vargas (CA-51), and Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07). Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced companion legislation in the Senate, co-sponsored by Senators Cory Booker(D-NJ) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

It is endorsed by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Farm Action Fund, Farm Aid, Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming, Indivisible, International Brotherhood Of Teamsters, Iowa Stock Growers Association, National Education Association, Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA, Southern Colorado Livestock Association, Stevens County Cattleman's Association, United Farm Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), and Working Families Party. 

Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers & Ranchers Act (Bill Text)

The Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers & Ranchers Act would bring us back to an agriculture system that works for small farmers and for consumers, by halting mergers of big agriculture businesses that have made enormous profits at the expense of everybody else. The bill addresses the mergers that have previously happened, strengthens antitrust laws in the food and agriculture system, and supports local, small-scale farmers and ranchers. 

The Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers & Ranchers Act is sponsored by Representatives Greg Casar (TX-35), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), and co-sponsored by Representatives Alma Adams (NC-12), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Cori Bush(MO-01), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (IL-04), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (GA-04), James McGovern (MA-02), Pramila Jayapal(WA-07), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Juan Vargas (CA-51). Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced companion legislation in the Senate, co-sponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). 

It is endorsed by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform, Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment, Farm Action Fund, Farm Aid, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming, Indivisible, Iowa Stock Growers Association, National Education Association, National Family Farm Coalition, National Farmers Union, Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA, Southern Colorado Livestock Association, Stevens County Cattleman's Association, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), and Working Families Party. 

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Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio.  A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 118th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Agriculture.

Original source can be found here.