Discussion: The Agricultural Labor Problem

Abstract

John Southern's paper represents an interesting attempt to grapple with some complex policy issues of agricultural labor. His description of the overriding conditions of the agricultural labor market (i.e., labor as another input, program discrimination, declining demand, and relatively low wages) is quite perceptive, as is his summary of factors leading to the demise of Public Law 78. Moreover, there is considerable merit to the propositions that (a) agricultural manpower policy should be integrated with national policy,' and that (b) manpower supplies within regions should be utilized more effectively. Unfortunately, Mr. Southern offers no plan for an effective regional utilization of rural and small-city manpower, and a few of his specific proposals for rationalizing farm labor with national labor policy appear somewhat bewildering. Federal income supplements to farm workers, severance payments to workers displaced by crop diversion programs, and minimum wage programs for agriculture on a commodity basis are not likely to have much political support. Moreover, the agricultural priceand income-support legislation that Mr. Southern seeks to amend does not involve the horticultural and specialty crops-crops for which hired farm labor demands are particularly important. The amendment of individual commodity legislation for the purpose of providing income, wage, or other labor standards will only lead to a myriad of inequities among farm laborers. It would seem more sensible to argue for minimum wage and other labor standards within the context of established and general labor laws. While I have not analyzed the effectiveness of the labor provision of the Sugar Act in recent years, my conclusion in 1960 was that the Secretary of Agriculture established minimum wages in the sugar-beet area at or below the prevailing wage. Also, the Secretary of Agriculture's wage determination excluded skilled or semiskilled persons employed on sugarbeet farms [4, p. 105]. While the Sugar Act is unique insofar as agricultural labor (including child labor) programs are concerned, the Act should not be used as a model for agriculture in general. With respect to John Southern's query regarding bargaining privileges for nonfarmers (presumably farm laborers), it would be naive to assume