Court Says New York Farmworkers Have Right to Unionize

The Albany Times Union reports in a 4-1 ruling from the Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court, farmworkers have the same constitutional right to unionize as all other workers in the state.

The case was filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Crispin Hernandez who claims he was fired from his job on a dairy farm when he met after work with human rights organizers and co-workers to discuss workplace conditions. This case challenged the constitutionality of exclusion for farmworkers in the State Employee Relations Act that has been on the books since the 1930s.

The suit was dismissed in January 2018 by the New York State Supreme Court. Hernandez appealed the decision last year.