Jamaican Farm Workers in the US With Union Protection Secure Wage Increase

2026-01-29 - 14:03

Seasonal migrant farm workers at an upstate New York apple orchard are starting the new year with stronger labor protections and higher wages following the implementation of a hard-won union contract. The agreement marks only the second farm labor union contract secured in upstate New York’s history. The workers, who organized with the United Farm Workers union, reached the milestone after a prolonged legal battle with Wafler Farms, an apple producer based in Wayne County. Farm workers first certified their union in 2023, but the company challenged the effort in court in an attempt to block unionization. That challenge ended on December 2, when a Wayne County judge ordered Wafler Farms to implement the contract. The company has since agreed to comply with the ruling. The contract covers between 120 and 130 farm workers, many of whom are Jamaican nationals employed under the H-2A seasonal agricultural worker visa program. The UFW said it is also pursuing back pay for bargaining unit members who worked at Wafler Farms in 2025 and should have received union wages beginning in April, when the contract was originally scheduled to take effect. “This hard-fought victory belongs to the farm workers at Wafler Farms, who never stopped fighting for their rights and the union contract they deserve,” said Armando Elenes, secretary treasurer of the UFW. Jacob Wafler, nursery manager at Wafler Farms, acknowledged the outcome, saying the company exercised its right to judicial review and will now work with the union to implement the contract as quickly as possible. Among the most significant gains is a new hourly wage of 19.39 US dollars, with a guaranteed increase to 19.97 dollars next year. These increases come as the Trump administration moves to cut minimum wages for H-2A workers nationwide. Under the previous rules, the minimum wage for H-2A farm workers was 18.83 dollars per hour. New federal guidelines announced in October will lower that figure to approximately 16 dollars an hour. According to the Economic Policy Institute, more than 380,000 migrant workers are expected to collectively lose between 4.4 billion and 5.4 billion dollars in wages each year under the revised rules. In addition, regulations that previously barred employers from charging H-2A workers rent for housing have been loosened, opening the door for new housing costs to be passed on to workers. Union contracts are not subject to these unilateral federal wage cuts. As a result, workers at Wafler Farms will earn thousands of dollars more annually than they would have without union representation. The UFW is also leading a federal lawsuit challenging the administration’s changes to the H-2A program. “While other farm workers’ wages are being cut by this administration, their wages will go up, protected by a legally binding union contract,” Elenes said. Beyond wage increases, the agreement provides nine paid holidays each year, access to a retirement plan, bereavement leave, paid sick time, and vacation benefits. Workers are also guaranteed a formal grievance process, the right to request a leave of absence without losing seniority, and protection against termination without just cause. Because of management’s delay in recognizing the union, the UFW is seeking retroactive pay for workers who should have been earning the higher union wage since April 2025. Christopher Walters, a 31-year-old Jamaican farm worker who has worked at Wafler Farms for six years, said the victory carries meaning beyond the current workforce. “We are not doing this only for ourselves,” Walters said. “We are also doing it for the younger generation who will come through this program and work on that farm. We want them to get better treatment than what we had before.” Wafler Farms is one of eight agricultural operations the UFW has been organizing since the passage of New York’s landmark 2019 agricultural labor law, which granted farm workers the right to collectively bargain. In addition to Wafler Farms, the union secured its first upstate New York contract last year at Cahoon Farms, also in Wayne County. Not all farm owners have accepted the changes without resistance. In 2023, the New York State Vegetable Growers Association, which represents several farms including Wafler and Cahoon, filed a lawsuit seeking to block unionization efforts and overturn the 2019 law. Despite those challenges, workers at Wafler Farms were awarded a contract by a state-appointed arbitrator in February 2025. Continued legal resistance by management ended when Judge Richard Healy ordered the contract’s implementation last month. For Walters, the outcome underscores the importance of unity. “The union helped us see that if we do not work together, we will not see results,” he said. “Coming together for what is right made all the difference.”