April 3, 2019 ACTION Dena Jensen

Yesterday Senate Bill 5438 was successfully moved out of the WA state legislature’s Labor & Workplace Standards committee with a do-pass recommendation! SB 5438 would provide measures to offer more adequate protections for the rising number of H-2A farm workers being recruited by Washington state farms.

Here is the link to the two minute discussion of the bill and the vote: https://www.tvw.org/watch/?clientID=9375922947&eventID=2019041045&startStreamAt=1604&stopStreamAt=1724&autoStartStream=true

The vote was close, 4 Ayes and 3 Nays, The bill will have a hearing in Appropriations this weekend. Please call those committee members and let them know we want the bill to pass AS-IS, WITH THE FEES IN TACT. Appropriations is where they are going to try to pitch the fees. The fees are an important part of holding the growers accountable. Here are the folks to call (if you are short on time, just call the Dems on the committee.) Here is the link to the House Appropriations Committee: http://leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/APP/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3ynpUxeqrAOoRFnI90OU4erfuLia28Cz2gkfqCiwHkAWGpA5azTpX6BRM

Also, continue to call on the support of our own representatives who can help raise the voices of farm workers to the forefront.

Here is the breakdown of the 4/2/19 roll call vote:

Rep. Sells: Aye; Rep. Chapman: Aye; Rep. Mosbrucker: Nay; Rep. Chandler: Nay; Rep. Gregerson: Aye; Rep. Hoff: Nay; Rep. Ormsby: Aye