After nearly two years of negotiations, farmworkers at Cahoon Farms have New York’s first established union contract that covers both seasonal guest workers and year-round employees.
Karim Nevins, a Jamaican H-2A worker who has come to Wolcott in Wayne County to work in apple orchards for the last three years, said the union contract saved his job.
“When we came back to Jamaica, we realized that we were cut off from the program at Cahoon. Luckily, we signed the union. That was the best thing that could ever happen to all of us who went there. The union stepped in, and they called us back [to Cahoon],” Nevins said.
H-2A visa holders are seasonal workers that come to the U.S. for up to 10 months out of the year to work on farms. When they are done with the season, they are required to return to their home country but can come back the following year if the farmer wants them to.
Under the union agreement, H-2A workers who abide by set expectations are given the right to come back to the farm the following year, and farmers must follow that.
“Now, I can be sure that I am going to come back to New York,” Nevins said. “Before, I would be wondering if I’m going to [go], but with the union, we have certain rights.”
Cahoon Farms declined to comment for this story.
Farmers who use the H-2A program are required to provide housing with specific requirements. It is inspected prior to their approval of the visas. Nevins said with the union contract now in place, they have someone they can rely on if they have concerns related to housing or other rights they are given.
“Before the union, we would have to accept any condition we get delivered, but now with the union, we know that we don’t have to live in that condition because we have [someone] we can call,” Nevins said.
United Farm Workers is the largest national union for agricultural workers, and they represent the workers at Cahoon Farms. UFW has eight other certifications where negotiations are ongoing.
Per their policy, the New York Farm Bureau supports “a transparent and democratic voting process for the creation and removal of unions on farms.”
Recently, workers at Merrell Dairy in Wayne County voted against union representation in the first-ever secret ballot election under the New York Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act.
Karen Merrell, owner of the third-generation dairy farm, said the vote made it so they can work directly with their employees rather than going through a third party. However, fair treatment of their employees is important to maintaining a good workplace, she said.
“I think it’s important to have a positive workplace culture where employees feel heard, valued and supported, and I think our employees showed the effects of that in their vote by voting overwhelmingly against the union,” Merrell said.
The process of establishing a union can be difficult, said Armando Elenes, the treasurer for UFW.
“You’re dealing with workers where first of all, a lot of them are migrant or immigrant workers that naturally are afraid of different situations whether it be immigration or other issues — especially with the current environment that’s being put on by the federal government,” Elenes said.
For H-2A workers, the fear of not being brought back for the next season is a huge reason for them to join the union.
“They’re essentially tied to one employer, so if they’re fired or if they’re not brought back to that particular farm, they pretty much lose an entire season. The way it’s set up, they can’t just jump to another farm right away,” Elenes said.
This could potentially mean losing out on $10,000 to $20,000 from one season.
“They’re earning essentially eight to 10 times more money here in the United States so when you say you’re potentially gambling an entire season, you may lose $10,000 to $15,000 multiply that by 10 because that’s the impact,” Elenes said.
Many farms will bring the same workers back year after year for sometimes 15 to 20 years, which makes their tenure more like long-term employees versus seasonal employees.
“As they get older, sometimes what’s happening is the employer is just simply, outright replacing them because instead of getting someone that’s been working for 20 years that’s slower, older, I can get a new 21-year-old who’s going to go faster, strong,” Elenes said.
The union has included recall rights, which guarantee workers the right to come back, and the first-ever retirement plans for workers at Cahoon Farms.
“You think it would be logical that a grower would want somebody to come back here because they have experience, they know what to do but in reality, unfortunately in agriculture, it’s very common to just replace people in favor of brand-new employees,” Elenes said.
UFW also is trying to keep a piece rate for workers. If it is established right, it allows workers who are more productive to make extra money, Elenes said.
“Apple workers sometimes they’re paid by the bin. If you’re a cabbage worker, you’re probably paid by the box. Some are like the small box gets paid this much; the big box gets paid this much. If you’re picking apples for juice, you get a certain rate. If you’re picking apples that are going to market, which require more care, then you get a different rate,” he said.
Piece-rate workers typically make $10 to $15 more an hour than those hourly workers. Legally, the piece-rate workers have to make the equivalent of what they would make with minimum wage as an hourly worker. Elenes said they have tried to negotiate the hourly guaranteed rate but to include an additional piece rate.
“One example, the juice bin rate went from $19 a bin to $38 a bin, doubled, which will allow the worker to make a lot more money. That’s one huge benefit, being able to negotiate actual piece rates and enshrine that into a document because that protects you from the grower unilaterally eliminating that,” Elenes said.
In the past, producers have eliminated piece rates but kept productivity standards in employees’ job orders that are higher than they were with piece rates.
“The worker then has no choice. It’s like you either come and work and accept these terms, or you don’t come at all. That’s your choice, which is no choice at all,” Elenes said.
In 2024, New York employed 6,162 H-2A workers compared to 4,693 in 2019, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In total, there were 56,678 farmworkers in New York in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture.
“If there were no farmworkers or immigrant workers, the food supply chain in this country would collapse,” Elenes said.