Bill would require Washington farmers to report slaves

Washington dairy farmers and fruit growers would have to report to retailers whether they use slaves under a bill endorsed Thursday by Democrats on the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee. Farm groups, for the record, say they oppose slavery, as well as human trafficking and peonage — two other forms of servitude producers would have to report.At a hearing last week, farm lobbyists said the bill was offensive and asked the committee to kill it.Introduced by Seattle Democrat Rebecca Saldana, Senate Bill 5693 would require farmers to report any incidents of slavery, peonage and human trafficking to retailers with more than $200 million in global sales.Peonage is also called debt servitude and involves an employer compelling workers to pay off a debt through their labor.