Changes may cost farmers but boost worker wages

Changes to the federal guest worker program, which will kick in next month, could leave farmers shorthanded with both their labor force and their profits.

The changes would increase agricultural workers' minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.21 an hour and require that employers hire all interested domestic workers first. But growers say domestic workers are not a dependable workforce and they face losing money and crops.

"U.S. workers have been disinclined to take those jobs, and if they do take those jobs, it is very rare that they last long," said Ray Royce, executive director of Highlands County Citrus Growers Association Inc.

Department of Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis announced the final rule on changes to the H-2A program on Feb. 11.

They take effect March 15 and reverse the Bush administration's rulings that made it easier for farmers to legally hire migrant workers through the program.

"The new rule will make it possible for all workers who are working hard on American soil to receive fair pay while at the same time expand opportunities for U.S. workers," Solis said.

"The actions that we have taken through this rulemaking will enable us to detect and remedy different forms of worker violations," she said.

In 2009, agricultural employers throughout the country requested 103,955 migrant workers for seasonal work. The DOL certified 94 percent of them, allowing 84,014 workers to come to the United States.

This is a stable hard-working labor force, said Will Bennett, consultant and manager for ME H2A LLC., in Avon Park, an agricultural labor consulting company that also recruits H-2A workers.

He said the changes would be detrimental to the agricultural industry.

"It's going to provide a challenging environment for companies who use H2A. The adverse effect is it's going to make it more expensive for growers," Bennett said.

New ruling: better working conditions and wages

In September 2009, the DOL initiated the new regulations after pressure from labor advocacy groups.

Farmworker Justice is a Washington, D.C., based litigation and advocacy organization for U.S. and migrant farm workers. Executive Director Bruce Goldstein said the new ruling ensures guest workers are treated more humanely, gives government more oversight over the H-2A program and worksites, and offers working conditions and wages that are attractive to U.S. workers.

"These regulations are trying to carry out the laws and job terms that are consistent with U.S. working conditions and wages. The current minimum wage $7.25 is not all that attractive," Goldstein said.

Under the new ruling, the DOL created an agricultural job registry and increased the minimum hourly wage of these jobs by about $1.96 in Florida to attract domestic farm workers.

Currently, it costs growers over $1,000 to recruit and hire a migrant worker through H-2A. They pay for visa applications, bus or plane tickets, travel expenses, housing and transportation while they are in the United States.

For growers it's worth the investment because they are assured a stable workforce for the duration of the season, Bennett said.

Based on data collected over a seven-year span, domestic workers don't last a half season, Bennett said. He suspects if companies are forced to hire more domestic workers, it could prompt them to hire undocumented workers to fill in the gaps.

"Different labor pools have different challenges. You have an agricultural entity that has crops and they need to get that fruit picked. They have to be able to take so many citrus trucks to the plant to meet their contracts. The domestic labor supply will quit midseason so growers will have all this fruit sitting around," Bennett said.

For advocacy groups like Farmworker Justice, that's a stereotypical comment.

"Farm workers are excluded from a lot of laws that other workers are entitled to," Goldstein said.

For example, employers who hire less than 10 farm workers are not required to have portable bathrooms in the field.

Ag workers don't get paid overtime, and in many states, they are either excluded from worker's compensation entirely or discriminated against through the benefits they can receive, Goldstein said.

Although the new ruling doesn't change that, it does improve the working conditions for both U.S. and migrant workers and gives governmental agencies more oversight to prevent abuses and worker violations, he added.

Growers concerned with profit, production losses

The concerns for growers are decreased production and profit losses. According to Bennett the increase in minimum wage would decrease their pickers' production levels because there would be less incentive for experienced pickers to pick more when everyone is making about the same.

Less production means fewer profits for growers who are already facing tough times.

The hourly increase from $7.25 to $9.21 is an improvement and step in the right direction, according to advocates, but some groups say it could be better.

"We've viewed that wage $9.21 as too low, because that amount is based on a USDA Farm Labor Survey which includes the wages of undocumented workers who often work for less than U.S. workers," Goldstein said.

For growers the wage is too high. Under the new ruling a strawberry picker making $9.21 an hour who picked five flats of strawberries in an hour at $1.50 per flat would leave the company with a loss of $1.71 per hour.

At the current hourly minimum wage of $7.25, growers would have a net profit of 25 cents per hour. A big difference when it comes to profits of about 1 to 2 cents per box of fruit, Bennett said.