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“It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong.”

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

NCAE News, Legal/Technical & Other Employer Issues:

A Texas farmer has pleaded guilty to charging illegal fees to farmworkers employed through a federal guest-worker program.

In Perez v. Howes LLC the district court was once again faced with addressing the legal obligations of farmers who use seasonal migrant workers to harvest their crops.

Regulatory Actions:

On Nov. 8, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the list of countries whose nationals will be eligible to participate in the H-2A visa program for agricultural workers and the H-2B visa program for non-agricultural workers in 2024.

Making the trip from Mexico to South Florida, a 26-year-old man arrived in September 2023, ready to start a new job on a sugar cane farm in Belle Glade.

Agriculture plays an important role in the economy, especially in this part of the country.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported a 69% increase in the illegal employment of children throughout the U.S.

Legislative Actions:

“We have no problem losing the agricultural minimum wage,” said Karen Schwalbe, executive director of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation.

H-2 and Other Worker Status Issues:

The integral role immigrants play in local fruit-growing and the challenges they can pose in arenas such as education was the focus of a panel speaking at Club 20’s spring conference Saturday.

The beating heart of Washington’s agriculture industry is in danger, but a central Washington lawmaker has a plan to help shore up the most critical issue farmers are facing — a disappearing workforce dependent on migrant labor.

Edgar Torres-Salinas goes over instructions to roughly 35 workers from rural Mexico — in Spanish and English.

The number of farmhands in Michigan working on H-2A visas — which allow farms that are struggling to hire U.S. workers to bring in temporary laborers from other countries–increased from 277 in 2010 to over 15,000 in 2023, according to the Michigan Farm Bureau.

At a House Appropriations Committee hearing last week, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) questioned DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas about farming and guestworkers.

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) questioned acting Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Julie Su over how she and her department are working with farmers facing massive costs under the H-2A program.

Safety:

Florida can be hot.

Immigration Reform:

American agriculture has been experiencing labor shortages for many years.

NCAE this Week:

The House and Senate were in this week. A Rules vote today should allow debate on a package of foreign aid bills in the House. A few members of the Republican caucus are indicating that the Speaker’s movement of these bills will cost him the gavel. 
 
NCAE has been working on a PR effort to help in changing the narrative around agricultural employers. The first article in this effort was published a couple of weeks ago in Florida. The second will be published next week in Michigan. 
 
EO 12866 meetings on the DOL’s proposed “Worker Protections” regulation were canceled this week as agricultural employers, including NCAE, received notice of the cancellations. It appears that the Department is committed to pushing out this unconstitutional and illegal regulation while chilling the employer’s freedom of speech by canceling our meetings. Sorry DOL, but the truth hurts. 
 
Have a great weekend! 
 
Michael

News articles and citations of interest for week ending 2024/04/19:

 

From field to fork, the agriculture industry is facing a labor and skills shortage that is hurting its productivity growth, sustainability and economic impact.

When Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy learned about plans for a massive H-2A housing complex in an uninhabited industrial area in western Santa Maria, members quickly mobilized to oppose the proposal.

Having fled economic and political chaos in Venezuela, Luisana Silva now loads carpets for a South Carolina rug company.

Major agriculture organizations have combined forces to spend millions on Spanish-language radio advertisements discouraging farmworkers from voting in union elections.

The beating heart of Washington’s agriculture industry is in danger, but a central Washington lawmaker has a plan to help shore up the most critical issue farmers are facing — a disappearing workforce dependent on migrant labor.

After their shift at a local mushroom farm one recent afternoon, two farmworkers, smudged with dirt and sawdust, trudged back to their rented rooms in Half Moon Bay.

A critical issue is plaguing Washington state’s agricultural industry: a shrinking domestic workforce.

California employers in the agriculture industry are facing challenges this spring after two major developments last month.

 

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