H2A in WA

I made several calls about H2A yesterday, and it reminded me of why Don Harris of Wild Oats says he loves retailing. He shows up at 6 a.m., preparing to be amazed at what the day will bring him.

I miss 6 a.m. by a couple of hours at least, but one of the great and amazing things about this job is learning new things from interesting people, pure and simple.

Yesterday, one of my visits was with Mike Gempler is the executive director of the Washington Growers League in Yakima. He told me participation in the H2A program is increasing - though still modest - with "a lot of people interested in dipping their toe in" and finding out how the program works. For about seven years, the League has had an internal unit called the Northwest Growers Association that has assisted growers in the H2A application process.

"It has started picking up the last couple of years, and this year a lot more people are starting out with it" he said.
Gempler said the number of workers in the H2A program pales in comparison to ag labor needed in the state. At the peak of apple harvest, he said 45,000 workers are needed to pick the crop, and perhaps 100,000 workers are needed through the course of the season. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor certified only 826 H2A workers last year.

But growers count the H2A program as a plus.

"There is a need because there is a labor shortage," he said. At the same time, growers who go the way of H2A are shifting to much more of a hands-on approach to labor than before. It means dealing with people who are perhaps in the U.S. for the first time, providing their housing and often other needs.

He said about 12 specialty crop growers have applied to the H2A program this year and perhaps about two dozen could engage the program by later in the year. Last year, perhaps six to eight growers were involved, he said.

H2A Workers requested under the program range from 20 to 150 people per employer, he said. The limiting factor for most farms is housing, since the program mandates living quarters for the guest workers. Some farms are refurbishing existing housing, but the vast majority of growers don't have housing and are building their own units or perhaps renting an apartment complex with other growers.

Gempler said growers who used the program last year are using it again this year, and some are upping the numbers of workers they request.
"Most growers were very happy to have a workforce that was available and motivated..it worked well." he said.

The fee charged by the Northwest Growers' Association is about $200 per worker application to cover the costs of the process and the services provided. Labor can be certified from between four months and ten months, he said.

"A short contract is very difficult for a number of reasons," he said, noting that some employers can cooperate to give workers a longer contract.

The Northwest Growers Association uses guest workers from Mexico. "Our infrastructure is set up for them," he said, noting that the region has had a Mexican and Mexican American workforce in recent history.

The guest workers can do quite well for themselves, he said. While in Mexico, some may make just $1,000 a year, the H2A program allows them to earn perhaps $10,000 over the course of five months based on a contract of 200 hours per month. Because housing is paid for, workers can save as much as $9,000 of their wages.

"All they have to pay for is food and entertainment," he said.

Gempler said whether or not Congress can pass immigration reform this year, he believes the H2A program will be more widely used in the years ahead.

"Increased enforcement at the border is already having an impact and proposed immigration laws - each and every one - has a document control feature and a mandatory electronic verification of identity," he said.