Chase DiFeliciantonio at POLITICO reports Labor Leaders are up in arms over a proposal Lawmakers are mulling in the final days of the Legislature’s season that would allow automated agricultural equipment to operate alongside Workers in California. In a letter obtained by POLITICO that was sent to Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limón, several of the State’s leading Unions - including the United Farm Workers (UFW) warned that introducing the unpiloted machinery could have “real consequences for Worker safety and California jobs.” They also lashed out at the last-minute nature of the measure, which would allow it to avoid the scrutiny of the regular legislative process. “We don't believe anything that jeopardizes safety or jobs should be rushed this way,” Lorena Gonzalez, who serves as President of the California Federation of Labor Unions, which signed onto the letter, told POLITICO in an interview. “We think Farmworkers shouldn't be guinea pigs." While no Lawmaker has yet said publicly they plan to introduce a Bill pushing the idea, a draft of a Budget Trailer Bill obtained by POLITICO would authorize farm operators to use the machines in the same fields as Workers. The Draft Bill also calls for safety guidelines and outlines how displaced Workers should be treated. A source close to the negotiations who supports the idea, and granted anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks, argued the legislation would be an important step in modernizing California’s Agriculture Industry. The source reiterated a Bill would include safeguards to protect Workers and opportunities for them to retrain for other jobs.

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