—Lancaster Fanufaig, Saturday, July 14,1979
34
Farm bargaining bill
By JAMES SHAFFER,
Professor of Agricultural Economics
Michigan State University
ANN ARBOR, MICH. In 1914, in Section 6 of the
Clayton Act, Congress recognized the special needs of
farmers to act collectively when it exempted associations
of fanners from prohibitions against collective actions
imposed on business in general.
In 1922, the Congress passed the Capper-Volstead Act
which expressly authorized agricultural producers to act
collectively in the processing and marketing of then
products as long as such cooperatives did not unduly
enhance prices. These laws are permissive and require no
action by those with whom the fanners’ associations
might wish to bargain. Farmers sought some positive
assistance from the government in collective bargaining
through the passage of The Agricultural Fair Practice Act
of 1967. In seeking this act, farmers had argued that
efforts to organize farmer bargaining associations were
hindered by practices of handlers which threatened to
discriminate against or disadvantage farmers who joined
bargaining associations.
This 1967 Act prohibited such practices, but also in
cluded a section stating “Nothing in this chapter shall
prevent handlers and producers from selecting their
customers and suppliers for any reason other than a
producer’s membership in or contract with an association
of producers, nor require a handler to deal with an
association of producers.” This disclaimer clause has
been interpreted by some to mean that handlers do not
have to recognize or deal with farmers’ bargaining
associations.
The National Agricultural Bargaining Bill of 1979 would
shift the position of the government from that of simply
permitting farmer bargaining associations toward
positive support for them by imposing some obligations on
handlers in regard to their relationships with associations
of farmers.
Legislation to assist farmers m their efforts to bargain
collectively with handlers is not a new idea. A number of
farmer bargaining bills have been introduced in the past
decade The best known of these bills were sponsored by
Representative Sisk of California. President Ford, while a
Congressman from Michigan, introduced a bill to
facilitate collective bargaining by farmers for some
contracted commodities The proposed 1979 legislation is
related to these earlier efforts
The 1979 bul grew out of the frustrations of members of
existing farmer bargaining cooperatives who often found
handlers unwilling to deal with them. Discussions among
participants at the annual meetings of the National
Committee of Cooperative Agricultural Bargaining and
Marketing Associations led to formation of a group in
terested in the development of legislation to facilitate
farmer collective bargaining. More than 30 people who
were representatives of bargaining cooperatives met in
Washington, D.C. for a workshop to begin the work of
designing the proposed bill. At this meeting a long list of
possible provisions for the bill was considered. Several
participants at this meeting argued for a bill which would
include exclusive agency bargaining. Exclusive agency
bargaining specifies that all members of a designated
bargaining unit be represented by and pay a fee to a
certified association, whether they are members of the
association or not. The Michigan Agricultural Marketing
and Bargaining Act has this provision. The majority of
participants argued for a much milder bill. Some par
ticipants argued that what they needed was a law simply
requiring handlers to recognize their associations as
legitimate bargaining representatives of their farmer
members.
The group at the workshop set some broad guidelines
for a bill which they believed would receive general
support among farm groups and which would gam
Congressional support. They also identified a group which
came to be known as the Ad Hoc Bill Drafting Committee.
This committee included Noel Stuckman of the Michigan
Agricultural Marketing Association as Chairman, Robert
Lewis of the Farmers Umon, Robert Holt of the California
Tomato Growers Association and William Swank of the
Ohio Agricultural Marketing Association. In addition,
legislative representatives of the Farmers Umon,
orange, Farm Bureau and the National Council of Far
mer Cooperatives and several consultants participated in
the bill drafting process. Gerald Marcus provided legal
counsel and contributed significantly to the language of
the bill.
The bill draftmg committee, after several meetings and
extended debate, developed a tentative bill. The proposal
was reviewed at a meeting m San Francisco in January of
1978 by representatives of a large number of bargaining
associations and was circulated for further comments.
•^asste
. 15hp to 24hp
• . • 2-Wheel or
4-Wheel drive
Choice of 2-wheel drive or
4-wheel drive in each horse
power range Plus Turf, Ag and
Rib tire combination to match
your home, farm or commercial
needs
They Have all the features you are Looking For...
3-POINT HITCH 3-SPEED PTO
Makes implement work Powers a full range of
easier Wide range of tractor attachments tiller,
optional attachments post-hole digger, mowers
available and more
FREE
OFFER
During July
SPECIAL
Rebate Days.
All weather cap and nylon windbreaker.
With Purchase of any Bolens Diesel Tractor.
FARMERSVILLE EQUIPMENT, INC.
, R D #4 Farmersville Rd , Ephrata, PA
STULI EQUIPMENT CO. ■- - __ _ _
explained
The bill was revised agam and, late m the second session
of the 95th Congress, was introduced by Congressman
Ammerman as HR 13869 and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture. Review of the bill was started by officials m
the USDA and by some of the Congressional staff. The bill
will be further refined and submitted to the 96th Congress
where it should be considered m 1979.
The major features of the proposed bill are as follows
The bill would repeal the Agricultural Fair Practices
Act of 1967 and incorporate the unfair practices of that Act
as a section of the new legislation. Seven unfair practices
are listed. It would be unlawful, for example, for a handler
to coerce a producer in the exercise of his right to join or
refrain from joining an association or to refuse to deal
(Turn to Page 35)
Select from 15hp, 17hp, 19hp
and 24hp models Each one
loaded with standard equip
ment features that others can't
'tch