By Oregon House Republican Caucus,
Salem, Ore. – House Republicans and farmers held a press briefing to condemn House Bill 2548. This bill proposes a sweeping, one-size-fits-all mandate that would transfer critical decisions about staffing, wages, benefits, and training to an unelected, unaccountable, bureaucratic body, and disregards the significant protections already in place for farmworkers.
“Over the past five years, Oregon has lost 57 dairy farms. That’s nearly 30% of our total farm numbers,” said Tami Kerr, Executive Director of the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association. “House Bill 2548 isn’t about farmers and farm workers. It’s about government overreach, political posturing, and division.”
“From 2017-2022, we’ve lost 2,000 family farms in Oregon and every year our farms lose money,” said Representative Bobby Levy (R-Echo). “If HB 2548 passes, I will be forced to navigate a bureaucratic and legal maze, where every decision could lead to litigation, penalties, or financial disaster.”
“We support health and safety standards to protect our employees, but we cannot support overregulation that damages us as farmers, and our employees,” said Lesley Tamura, Board Chair, Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers. “This board would have no oversight. They could create whatever kind of wage and safety standard laws they want and because we simply cannot afford to keep up with those unreasonable standards, we would have no choice but to close up shop and sell to the highest bidder.”
“This bill is being presented as a way to protect farmworkers, but here’s the truth: Oregon already has some of the strongest labor protections in the country. We follow strict safety standards, provide fair wages, some offer housing, and comply with a long list of regulations designed to keep workers safe,” said Representative Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany). “I will oppose HB 2548, and I will fight for farms and farmworkers alike to support their success and work to help all to thrive in this state.
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