The Federal government is at war with itself. Federal law says that it is a felony is support or encourage an illegal alien. Another agency of the Feds says that illegal aliens can be members of a union. Thankfully a Federal Judge has declared one agency of government can not violate the laws passed by Congress.
“A federal judge in Georgia on Monday blocked the U.S. Department of Labor from enforcing a new rule in 17 states that would have prevented agricultural employers from retaliating against migrant workers with H-2A temporary work visas for joining labor unions and organizing against wage theft, trafficking and other abuses.
Siding with the states in a lawsuit against the Labor Department, the judge granted a preliminary injunction and ruled the regulation would unconstitutionally give foreign agricultural workers rights that Congress never intended to provide.”
This is just another way for unions to steal—this time from illegal aliens.
Georgia judge blocks federal rule allowing migrant farmworkers to join unions in 17 states
A U.S. Department of Labor regulation expanding protections for farmworkers on temporary visas and preventing employers from retaliating against those who try to form or join a labor organization is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled.
Kayla Goggin, courthousenews, 8/26/24 https://www.courthousenews.com/georgia-judge-blocks-federal-rule-allowing-migrant-farmworkers-to-join-unions-in-17-states/
ATLANTA (CN) — A federal judge in Georgia on Monday blocked the U.S. Department of Labor from enforcing a new rule in 17 states that would have prevented agricultural employers from retaliating against migrant workers with H-2A temporary work visas for joining labor unions and organizing against wage theft, trafficking and other abuses.
Siding with the states in a lawsuit against the Labor Department, the judge granted a preliminary injunction and ruled the regulation would unconstitutionally give foreign agricultural workers rights that Congress never intended to provide.
U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood found the rule violates the National Labor Relations Act, a federal law that allows certain employees to unionize. Agricultural laborers are explicitly excluded from the law’s definition of “employee” and are not entitled to collective bargaining rights, the George W. Bush appointee said.
“By implementing the final rule, the DOL has exceeded the general authority constitutionally afforded to agencies,” Wood wrote in the 38-page decision.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which represents the Labor Department in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.
The ruling comes after a lawsuit filed in June by attorneys general of Kansas, Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. A Georgia farm, Miles Berry Farm, and the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association also joined the suit.
The rule, officially called “Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States,” was issued by the Labor Department in April but did not go into effect until June. The regulation was intended to help workers in the H-2A program who are vulnerable to exploitation due to the temporary nature of their work, workers’ geographic isolation and their dependency on a single employer.
The H-2A non-immigrant worker visa program allows agricultural employers to temporarily hire foreign workers to perform labor where the U.S. Secretary of Labor certifies that there are insufficient workers for the job.
Since the agency is unable to investigate every farm employing H-2A workers, the rule was intended to combat abusive working conditions by improving workers’ ability to advocate for themselves.
“Because of the aforementioned vulnerabilities, H-2A employers not only exploit H-2A workers but commonly retaliate against H-2A workers who advocate for their own rights,” Wood said in the ruling.
The regulation would have prevented employers from retaliating against H-2A visa-holders who try to form, join or assist a union or who have refused to engage in such activities. It does not require employers to recognize labor organizations.
Other protections offered under the rule included clarifications regarding “for cause” termination, improved transportation safety requirements and language clarifying that employers cannot confiscate workers’ passports.
But Wood ruled the agency has not shown Congress intended to give agricultural laborers the right to “participate in concerted activity to further their interests.”
Quoting a line from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2001 opinion in Alexander v. Sandoval, Wood wrote: “’Agencies may play the sorcerer’s apprentice but not the sorcerer himself.’ The final rule is an attempt by the DOL to play the sorcerer. The DOL may assist Congress, but may not become Congress.”
Wood considered, but ultimately denied, the states’ request to bar enforcement of the rule nationwide.
Finding that “complete relief” was possible for the plaintiff states without a nationwide injunction, Wood rejected arguments that allowing union-like rights for H-2A workers in other states would unfairly drive labor away from the states involved in the lawsuit.
“National uniformity is not a proper consideration for issuing a nationwide injunction,” Wood ruled.
The injunction also applies specifically to Miles Berry Farm and the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. Wood ruled both plaintiffs would suffer “irreparable financial harm” under the rule.
Miles Berry Farm has said it would have to increase payments to its 150 annual H-2A workers for new adverse effect wage rates. The trade association said its costs would go up to cover administering the “complex” new rule.
A spokesperson for the trade association was not immediately available to comment on the ruling.
We keep asking who runs the country and the answer is simple. The Courts. We are ruled by judicial legislation.