Overtime Bill Passed Pt 1
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. The agriculture overtime bill has made it through the House and is headed for Governor Inslee’s desk, and while it’s not perfect it’s much better than it could have been.
Breanne Elsey, with the Washington Farm Bureau, says that’s putting it mildly …
ELSEY … “If folks will remember, early on, this bill was an absolute train wreck. And that’s why, at certain points in session, you saw Farm Bureau go opposed to the bill instead of pro. And, that’s because we really had to dig in our heels a couple of times and say, you know what, this bill is not okay the way it’s currently written.”
Elsey says the Dairy folks remained supportive throughout the process because they were facing 36 lawsuits …
ELSEY … “But, from Farm Bureau’s perspective, you know, we can’t view this issue in isolation when you represent all of the over 300 commodities in the state.”
Elsey says the bill gave them too many reasons for them to become myopic …
ELSEY … “And that list has become especially difficult in the current legislature where we’ve seen an increased hostility towards agriculture. There were times throughout that bill process where you saw some of the organizations go opposed to the bill and that was really why. There were points where we just had to absolutely dig in our heels and make changes that were necessary for all of the commodities in the state. So, parts of the lawsuits will go away and other parts will remain.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on the passage of the overtime bill.
