02/20/07 Farmworker issues

Farmworker issues. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. A lot of producers are starting to think about the 2007 crop and part of that is what is going to happen with the labor shortage issue. It's not expected to be resolved any time soon so that means turning to more guest workers. The West Coast is expecting several thousand H-2A workers to be employed in the agricultural industry, most of them from Mexico. More than 1,000 workers with contracts are expected to be employed in 2007 under the federal H-2A program. Mike Gempler, executive director of the Washington Growers League says damage has already been done. GEMPLER: Our industry is already seeing economic damage all around the country, everywhere from New York to Florida to California and here in the Northwest. We have a deteriorating situation and it will continue to deteriorate if nothing is done. Using guest workers may ease worries about worker shortages, but it remains a complicated and expensive alternative. The 2006 rate was $9.77 an hour in Washington and Oregon with employers also paying for transportation, housing, worker's compensation and other fees including a substantial amount of added paperwork. Employers are also faced with a no-win situation, if they question documents provided by workers they could face lawsuits under anti-discrimination laws or face legal action if they hire illegal workers knowingly. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.