Slavery Reporting Bill Pt 1
I'm Bob Larson. It seems the urban-rural divide is rearing its ugly head again in the form of a Senate bill that calls for dairy farmers and fruit growers to report when they use slave labor or human trafficking to boost production.
Senator Doug Ericksen says this legislation is an insult to everyone in agriculture...
ERICKSEN ... "Yeah, so this Senate Bill 5693, is a regulatory burden that we place upon our farmers. Now only dairy farmers and now people, basically, orchardists and other raspberry industry, to tell the state if they're using slaves! And, it's an absolutely ridiculous piece of legislation."
Ericksen says it's something they've seen coming in his district for some time ...
ERICKSEN ... "This is definitely an attack on our local farmers here in Washington state. And, as I've said, it's been happening for quite a few years now in Whatcom county where lawsuits have been waged against our farmers who are legally bringing in guest workers to come and work on our farms in Whatcom county."
He says it's all being orchestrated by the same group of extremists ...
ERICKSEN ... "You know, many of these same groups want to end that guest worker program which would essentially put our farmers out of business with the current labor supply in America. So, this is an organized and concerted attempt, by certain radical elements, to demonize modern agriculture in Washington state. There's no other way to put it. These people are trying to put our farmers out of work and they are trying to use the government and ridiculous claims like "slavery" to get it done."
Farmers say to even imply they're involved in such practices is downright offensive.
Listen tomorrow for more on this dangerous legislation.
