She wants to close down farms. I have no idea why. Maybe she wants her food to come from another country.

These bills would hit the smallest farms the hardest. That is the worst thing about the bills. Plus they would have unions come onto the farms. Unions have chased off the auto and steel and need to make up that revenue somewhere.

Most farm workers enjoy their job. There is something about working with animals or crops that is very satisfying. I value my employees and pay them quite well. Even in years that I lose money, they are still paid well. They do not want to pay union dues.

I think Unions are one of the main drivers for these farm labor bills. Maybe they should unionize Senator Espada’s workers.

I don’t know Cuomo from the man on the moon but I have yet to see him or read about him call me or insinuate I am a “slave owner” like Witt or Kennedy has. I would like Kerry Kennedy to come to my farm and look my my 13 year old and 8 year old boys in the eyes and tell them how their dad routinely abuses and exploits the men that live on the farm and work for them.

So I hope “IronMike” you understand my comments regarding Kennedy. You have someone say the sorts of things she has in public, with the kind of coverage she gets, with no evidence, about your industry, and let’s see how you react. And in the case of the turd that she is listening to, this clown Witt, he has been saying these sorts of outrageous things for over 15 years. That’s right, over 15 years. So, please understand that my patience no longer exists when it comes to these clowns.

“Espada’s right. Kerry Kennedy’s right. The Church is right.”

Amen brother. Then let’s start with the myriad of exemptions that the religious non-profit world or what I term the “Amen Industry” benefit from, including various labor laws and tax laws. Let’s eliminate all of those exemptions too. Then you can point the finger at my industry and dictate what I should be doing, hypocrite. In the meantime I urge all to read up on this issue. The blatant hypocrisy of these religious and quasi-religious organizations, that want to impose rules and laws on other industries they don’t often want applied to themselves and who benefit from a number of labor law and tax “exclusions” is fully detailed in the excellent 5 part series “In God’s Name” by Diana B. Henriques that ran in October of 2006 in the New York Times:

IN GOD’S NAME: As Exemptions Grow, Religion Outweighs Regulation http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/business/08relig ious.html?pagewanted=all

IN GOD’S NAME: Where Faith Abides, Employees Have Few Rights http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/09/business/09relig ious.html?fta=y&pagewanted=all

IN GOD’S NAME: Religious Programs Expand, So Do Tax Breaks http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/10/business/10relig ious.html?pagewanted=all

IN GOD’S NAME: Religion-Based Tax Breaks: Housing to Paychecks to Books http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/business/11relig ious.html?pagewanted=all

IN GOD’S NAME: Ministry’s Medical Program Is Not Regulated http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/20/business/20relig ion.html?fta=y&pagewanted=all

These articles are quite illuminating and the hypocrisy they expose are equal parts nauseating and appalling.

Back a few years ago I contacted the various religious orgs that fund Rural and Migrant Ministry (the organization driving this faux movement) and asked them where they stood on their workers being allowed to collectively bargain.

Check out this link for more details: http://rochester.indymedia.org/newswire/display/23 93/index.php

Two years ago the PBS program “Religion and Ethics Newsweekly” aired the following segment:

Catholic Church and Labor————————————————————————————-
The Church has had a long history of defending the rights of workers dating back 100 years to Pope Leo XIII. But recently, Catholic Bishops and Catholic school teachers across the nation have been fighting over union representation. In the Diocese of Scranton, Bishop Joseph Martino refused to recognize a Catholic teachers union representing one-third of its teachers for more than 30 years. Instead, he formed one of his own designed to serve teachers and Diocesan employees. The Bishop’s decision caused an uproar in Scranton’s heavily unionized Catholic community and reignited the national debate over union protection under state law for teachers in religious schools of all faiths.

Lucky Severson travels to Scranton for a closer look at this controversy. According to Michael Milz, president of the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers, “We’re not used to those kind of tactics coming from the Catholic Church. How can you not say it’s hypocrisy when . . . they urge other employers to allow their workers to have the right to organize, yet deny it to your own workers?” However, Professor Brian Benestad, who teaches theology at the University of Scranton, argues “If the Catholic schools are required to recognize the union, then you’re going to have government . . . intervening in the school, making decisions about whether the bishops’ invocation of doctrine is really genuine.”

It seems to me that if you are going to aggressively lobby for certain laws or conditions for workers outside of your industry, then you should be leading by example for employees in your own industry. If religious institutions are so keen on unionizing workers why don’t they start by unionizing the workers that work for their various organizations and affiliated institutions (churches, schools, hospitals, etc…)? It should be emphasized that religious based institutions, including their private schools and hospitals, have a long, rich tradition of being anti-union. Or should I say, they are pro-union, unless it is people that happen to work for them, that is. From the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (NICWJ) website:

“Engages Religious Employers: Religiously-affiliated non-profit institutions, such as hospitals and nursing homes, should model the highest standard of employer-employee relations. Unfortunately some religious institutions hire union-busting ‘consultants’ and engage in unethical, and sometimes illegal behavior toward workers when they attempt to form a union. NICWJ has developed resources to educate people of faith about this issue.” (http://www.iwj.org/template/page.cfm?id=91)

To emphasize, religious organizations have a long rich history of being anti-union and employing union-busting tactics when those union workers happen to be their own employees. One example being the Roman Catholic Diocese of NY in connection with the local Catholic high school John S. Burke; see letter entitled “Union Breaking Tactics: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090222/OPINION/902220304 (for another example of Catholic intimidation regarding unionization of employees at a local hospital see: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081024/BIZ/810240363).

They are so big on removing the “exclusions” or exemptions found in our laws. Great. Then let them lead by example by removing theirs, including the overtime “exclusion” they benefit from. Or one of the biggest, most egregious exemptions found in our laws, the tax exclusions that these religious organizations benefit so greatly from.

Again, the hypocrisy of these people is so appalling it is disgusting. It is only matched by their smug self-righteousness. Spare me.

Go to this link and read the comments I posted in connection with the video of the hearing held back on March 1st:

http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=pu0ov9EduC4&fromurl=/watch%3Fv%3Dpu0ov9EduC4

Go to this link and read the comments I posted in connection with the video of the NYS Senate Ag Committee vote held back on April 20th:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHToHTzXiVA

Here are a few other links:

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=814533
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=896400
http://www.westfaironline.com/hudson-valley-biz/article/7015-dont-apply-factory-work-rules-to-farmworkers.html?tmpl=component&print=1
http://lancasterfarming.com/node/2053
http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/2967
http://www.vegetablegrowersnews.com/newsroom.html?ns=2568

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMWTHBkUuHk

Watch the video and read the materials found under my username under the more info section. The only facts uttered by by the Executive Director of RMM during this piece that are true is that the road is busy and the boy died. The rest is all a lie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUH-YTSobS8

Watch the video and read my comments on the more info section to see the details regarding their actions and how it conflicts with the tax code for organizations that file as a 501(c)3.

Go to this link to learn a bit more about the organizations pushing this legislation. My article starts on page 10:

http://www.turnpagepro.com/doc/Columbia-Publishing/OWJulyAug09/2009070101/?lang=en

“Chris, you presented a compelling case against the bill and I agree with you. Then you had to pile on and personally attack the woman.”

The reason is because Kennedy has repeatedly stated in the press and in the public outrageous allegations that amount to nothing more than smears. She has claimed, repeatedly, without an ounce of any substantiation or credible evidence, that farmworkers are routinely raped, exploited, extorted, abused, etc …. Often she simply mouths RMM Executive Director Richard Witt’s unsubstantiated propaganda, word for word (she was doing this on WAMC last year). She did this even in a NYS Senate, a hearing that should have been under oath and her testimony should have been under oath and she should have been held accountable. I can give you the links if you like but here is the best one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu0ov9EduC4

Just watch it. Watch her testimony. She substantiates NONE of it. The same day this hearing took place Fred Dicker dealt with this topic on his radio show and he said in this day of cheap digital cameras and video cameras and cell phones and the like, if these tales of horrific abuses were the norm and so rampant why can’t Witt and Kennedy and the rest produce a single example? (it’s in the second half of the show: http://www.talk1300.com/CMT/podcast/FredsPodcastMondayMarch012010.mp3).

So yes, I get my digs in on her. Because for over a year I have listened to her on WAMC and hearings like linked above and read her musings in Newsday and in the NY Daily News where she has routinely asserted without a stitch of evidence that my industry routinely rapes and exploits my employees who suffer with no pay, no protections, no services, etc …. and she backs none of her musings. Classless? maybe, but I have a long way to go to catch up to that wacky nutjob!

Classless.