Labor Summit Part 2

Labor Summit Part 2. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

The Washington Farm Labor Association is hosting a Workforce Summit to provide input to congressional leaders and also to announce a way for employers to use the current H2A program. Dan Fazio, Executive Director of the WAFLA talks about the program.

FAZIO: We’ve got a good headline by Leon Sequeria and he’s the most knowledgeable person on the guest worker program. He’s from Washington DC and he was instrumental in writing the guest worker reforms under the Bush Administration, now he’s an attorney in private practice and Mr. Sequeria is going to talk about this plan for the H2A program as well as give you an update on the proposals that are right now before Congress.

Fazio says there are a number of bills that could affect this issue.

FAZIO: One of them we don’t like so much is a mandatory E-Verify bill that they’re working on right now in the House and then there are 2 or 3 other bills we’d like move along with that mandatory E-Verify bill which provides needed reform to the guest worker program.

The Summit is set for August 16 in Wenatchee and August 17 in Yakima. You must register to attend. The program will run from 8:30 to noon and is sponsored by WAFLA, WA Hort. Assoc., WSDA, and WA Farm Bureau

FAZIO: Finally there’s going to be a panel of industry leaders; both people who have used the guest worker program and people who have not because they can’t telling us why they can’t use the program and what it’s going to have to have on it.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.