A24—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 8,1981
4 Block Vote 9 Bill
(Continued from Page A 22)
“blockvoting” will sometimes try
to pass the procedure off with
respectability by saying it is just
the way your representatives work
in Harrisburg. That is, our
directors (elected represen
tatives) are only voting for their
members like you do at the state
capital.
Anyone who tries to sell this
cheap shot, either doesn’t know
how government works with it’s
system of checks and balances, or
is just trying to confuse the issue
because that’s not how our state
government works Our con
stitution sets safe guards as to how
many votes it takes to carry an
issue. It’s not just a majority of
those voting, but a constitutional
majority.
There is a big difference, as any
member of the House well knows
If you choose not to vote, your vote
is recorded in the negative, and no
one, not your country chairman,
not your state chairman, no not
even your floor leader himself has
the right to vote for you
How did this miscarriage of
justice come about f (block
voting).
Power brokers in Washington
when Capper-Volstead Act was
passed in 1922 were able to insert
the philosophy that when a
producers jomgs a cooperative he
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DAVID N. GROFF ALLEN SUMMERS
RDI, Box 506 C
Lewisburg, PA 17837
717-966-3593
Distributor of
Blue Ball, Pa.
loses his right to individually
decide some issues. In this case the
block voting issue was important
to one group only, the big milk
cooperatives.
And why the big milk
cooperatives?
Because, by being able to vote all
the votes of their members or by
block voting they had a better
chance to succeed in obtaining
marketing orders
Under these marketing orders
the United States Government
would then set the wholesale nnces
and subsidize milk. What this
legislature does with H B. 767 will
have no effect on federal law. So,
contrary to some whole sale
buyers of milk, national milk
marketing orders are not decided
by state statutes. So, that issue is
mute.
What we are considering is, shall
the Pennsylvania legislature allow
this travesty to continue; where
Pennsylvania commodities can tax
their producers tor a program they
may not be in agreement with.
Aside from block voting this
amendment covers several other
issues All are probably “OK”
except one Section 6 would
change, underthis proposal from a
majority by number and a
majority by volume to 2/3
■'oting
The volume part should be
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AND SURROUNDING STATES
DALE L. SCHNUPP
RD 6, Lebanon, Pa 17042
Ph-717-865-6611
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nMTiirfai
Sales & Service
RD #l, Box 152-C
Nottingham, PA 19362
215-932-4761
Refrigerated Trailers
717-354-4971
State Grange
.ij name is Feryl Treicnk. i
am a dairy farmer from Berks
County and am chairman
of the Dairy Committee of the
Pennsylvania State Grange
First, I would like to state that
the Pennsylvania State Grange
opposes the amendments to the
Pennsylvania Agricultural
Commodities Marketing Act as
recommended in House Hill 767 for
three very basic reasons:
We are opposed to any crippling
of the effectiveness of cooperative
groups by prohibiting bloc voting
on marketing order referendums.
We feel that efforts should be
retained under H.B. 767. As it is its
a safeguard and returns it to its
original language.
To use 2/3 of those voting could
be very misleading and weakens
the act, should it be passed. Under
this proposal a 2/3 vote could be
had by only three people voting.
Some mmimums or constitutional
volume should be included as
present law requires.
With the amendments 1 have
suggested, if this Bill is passed into
law, all farmers in Pennsylvania
will be treated equally for the first
time since the “Pennsylvania
Commodities Act” became law.
The end result of a successful
referendum under the Penn
sylvania Commodity Act can have
a substantial effect on prices all
people pay. Its effect penetrates
into every comer of our society
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concentrated instead on providing
adequate time for individuals to
vote on marketing orders and
encouraging individuals to vote.
We feel that an empty vote in
place of a bloc vote will not provide
any better producer represen
tation on marketing programs.
To my knowledge, members of
the board of directors governing
cooperatives are voted into office
by the members of the
cooperative. Members are, in
essence, electing these individuals
to represent them in making policy
decisions for the cooperative as a
whole.
In fact, the bargaining power
that is gained in banding together
is one of the advantages of joining
a cooperative in the first place. By
joining such a group, a producer
imparts some authority to the
directors to speak for him.
We believe in independent, equal
rights for votmg on all issues by
the individual and the State
Grange has long urged its mem
bers to discharge their duties as
citizens by voting in all elections
and referendums.
As stated in the present Act,
“The Secretary shall consider the
vote of a cooperative association
as the votes of such members,
providing the cooperative has first
notified its members, in writing, of
its intention to cast a represen
tative vote. Such notice shall in
form the producer of his right to
cast his vote individually and shall
include thereon the following
words in bold face type- “Warning
- if you do not exercise your right to
vote, your cooperative has the
right to vote for you. ”
We feel that this is sufficient
notification. Our concern is that
notification is given to the in
dividual as least four weeks in
advance so that he has adequate
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GENE MEYERS OF MARENGO ILLINOIS SAYS
The options are yours
fa
compare...
and you’ll uuv m-c
time to make an intelligent
decision.
We therefore urge that the
ammendments as stated in House
Bill 767 not be made to the present
Agricultural Commodities
Marketing Act. Instead, let efforts
be concentrated on allowing suf
ficient notification time for
referendums and on encouraging
individuals to express their views
by voting for themselves.
I, Deputy Secretary J. Luther
Snyder, am here this morning
representing Pennsylvania
Agriculture Secretary Penrose
Hallowell, to testify concerning the
current Pennsylvania Agricultural
Commodities Marketing Act of
1968, and proposed amendments to
the act included in House Bill 767
We believe that the existing law
has been working satisfactorily,
not only in terms of procedures for
creation of marketing programs
and reviews of programs, but also
in terms of the benefits provided to
the producers who are included in
the three current marketing
programs
The amendments to the act in
cluded m HB 767 appear to ac
complish the end of insuring in
dividual balloting, but in fact, the
existing law also makes provisions
which guarantee individual voting
rights
The current act provides that a
simple majority by number of
producers and by volume is needed
to pass a proposed program HB
767 would amend the Marketing
act to require a two-thirds
majority for passage We believe
that any amendment which would
provide other than a simple
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255 PLANE TREE DRIVE,
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(717)393-5807
Route 30 West at The Centerville Exit
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(Turn to Page A 32)