WASHINGTON, DC – Last week a Senate committee heard testimony on the importance of overhauling the U.S. guestworker programs, also known as the H-2A temporary visa program, concerning agriculture.
For segments of the industry, they couldn’t survive without the help of migrant and/or temporary and sometimes seasonal workers, especially from Mexico and Central America.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee which features members who have had the first-hand experience in difficult ag-related jobs in their past.
“I worked for a meat-packing company in my hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois” recounted Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chairman of the committee “and was paid $3.65 per hour which was a pretty good rate. I stood elbow to elbow with other workers as thousands of pounds of meat (pork) came marching, non-stop down the conveyor belt.” Durbin says he understands why most American’s today don’t want the jobs. “The work was hot, dirty, and dangerous”.
Not only is the work dangerous, but he also says, more than half of the nation’s 2.5 million farmworkers are undocumented and “a direct result of a broken immigration system”.
The Senate is considering the Farm Workforce Modernization Act to find a solution for those in agriculture who need not just temporary workers, but year-round help as well.
Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) questioned Vilsack on proposed caps to the total number of H-2A visas that would be allowed at any time and the Secretary reminded members that it’s important to “learn to walk before you run”.
According to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the legislation would provide a path to immigration status for undocumented farm workers. With legal status and a path to citizenship, farmworkers would be able to earn higher wages and in turn, businesses that rely on farmworkers would have a more reliable and stable workforce.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)