H2A growth

I have been making some calls today about the H2A program, the guest worker program for agriculture. Despite the program's flaws , which include high wages and heavy paperwork jams - growers facing worker shortages are turning to the program in bigger numbers. Department of Labor statistics for fiscal year 2006 show that 59,112 workers were certified for the H2A program, up from 44,619 workers in fiscal year 2004 and just 19,500 workers certified in 1997.

Usage of H2A should reflect another strong uptick this year. Mike Stuart of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association said ag employers there using the association's H2A services brought in only a few hundred guest workers last year. "We've seen a dramatic increase of our members use of the program in the last six to twelve months....essentially about an eight to ten fold increase in utilization of it," he said. Stuart said 3,000 to 4,000 H2A workers are being utilized by FFVA members in Florida this year.

TK: Obviously, enforcement actions against undocumented workers and the resulting labor shortages in fruit and vegetable fields have heightened the interest in the guest worker program. The future of the agricultural workforce appears to be with H2A, making AgJobs reforms that would add flexibility and ease of use of the program that much more urgent.