Stakeholder concerns
To succeed, the policy will also need to address concerns from agricultural employers and farmworkers.
As written, the bill insufficiently addresses labor issues that could negatively impact growers’ financial stability, said Powers of the Northwest Horticultural Council.
Much of the bill was unchanged from 2019, said Powers, who also objected to the way the adverse effect wage is calculated.
“It should be noted that this bill as written does nothing to reform the prevailing wage rate system, which is so flawed that the existing prevailing wage ranges for Washington state tree fruit growers were set by a federal judge behind closed doors in litigation that is ongoing,” he
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