H-2A Workforce
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. For anyone complaining that workers from other countries are taking away farm jobs from hard working Americans, do your homework.
Pam Lewison, Ag Director at the Washington Policy Center, says the visa system can ONLY be used when farmers can’t find enough local workers …
LEWISON … “WPC has long been a proponent of the H-2A system. For those who are not aware, the H-2A system grants a visa to any farm worker in the world, effectively, who’s capable and able to do the job advertised, that comes to the United States, Washington in particular, or any other state, to do farm work on a temporary basis.”
But, Lewison says the H-2A workers cost a lot more than local workers …
LEWISON … “What you get in return is an elevated wage, a place to live, your travel costs taken care of to and from your employment sight, and a guaranteed amount of wages with a few other caveats attached to that.”
Farmers, by law, must post the jobs locally for 60 days before hiring any H-2A workers …
LEWISON … “So then, those employers have to go through this process of hiring folks from somewhere else and subsidize, again, their living costs, their travel expenses, and pay an escalated wage to have them be here.”
315 thousand H-2A workers were hired last year, 35 thousand in Washington state.
