Last week, Mary Wheeler of Chagrin Falls, Ohio-based Wheeler Landscaping, a member of the Ohio Landscape Association’s legislative committee, briefed OLA members at the group’s annual meeting about the H-2B situation.
“Right now, it doesn’t look like it’s going to go through, but part of the reason is a lot of stuff in government isn’t going through right now,” Wheeler said. “Even if you don’t use the H-2B program, it does affect you because the labor pool will shrink.”
She emphasized that the next two weeks are an important time for contractors to go visit their Congress members at their home offices to educate and encourage them to do something about the possibility that Congress will not pass the H-2B program’s returning-worker exemption before it adjourns for the year in late December.
“It can be uncomfortable at first,” OLA Executive Director Sandy Munley said of visiting Congressional offices. “But don’t let that stop you. You are the constituents and you are helping them do their job.” (For talking points and other materials for Congressional visits about H-2B, visit the Professional Landcare Network’s H-2B Tool Kit.)
Last week, negotiations over the returning-worker exemption broke down during a Congressional Conference Committee for an appropriations bill to which an amendment for one-year emergency fix was attached, according to Save Small Business. According to unconfirmed reports Save Small Business members have heard from Congressional offices, negotiations broke down as a result of opposition from two groups: labor unions and the Hispanic Congressional Caucus. Labor unions, in conjunction with the Southern Poverty Law Center, take issue with the H-2B program because they generally oppose any foreign labor programs. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, despite having several members who are co-sponsoring the 2007 Save Small Business bill, are steadfast in their support of a comprehensive solution to immigration reform and have reportedly vowed to oppose every immigration-related bill in Congress that doesn’t legalize the undocumented immigrants already here.
A combination of these two groups’ efforts was enough to put an end to the Mikulski compromise, Save Small Business says.
As a result, H-2B supporters need to “turn up the heat,” says Save Small Business President Hank Lavery. He’s asking H-2B users to fax a letter to Representatives and Senators as soon as possible indicating disappointment that the returning-worker exemption hasn’t yet been passed, and on top of going to visit Congress members in their home offices. “Please go find out where they are and meet them face-to-face in the home district AS MANY TIMES as you can over the next two weeks,” Lavery said in a message on the Save Small Business Web site [emphasis Lavery’s]. “Either Congress fixes the H-2B returning-worker emergency, or we will soon have to begin firing U.S. workers and reducing the vital services each of us provides to our communities.”
In addition, Save Small Business is organizing an emergency Fly-In to Washington Dec. 5. The Fly-In will begin with an 8 a.m. briefing, followed by meetings with Representatives and Senators with the goal of getting the returning-worker exemption passed before the end of the year. For more information, visit www.savesmallbusiness.org.
| ACTION STEPS |
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1. Congress is on recess until December 3. Use the next two weeks to contact your senators and member of Congress while they are home. Set up an appointment to visit with them at their local offices and coordinate the appointment with other local H-2B employers if possible. Also try to visit with them at any local events. 2. Call your senators and member of Congress in their Washington, D.C., offices through the Congressional switchboard at (202) 225-3121. Ask to speak to the staff member who handles immigration issues. If you are uncertain about what to say, use the sample script on PLANET’s H-2B Toolkit at http://landcarenetwork.org/planetFile/pdfs/H2B_Script.pdf. 3. Send an updated letter on your letterhead through PLANET’s Legislative Action Center and also fax it. If you input your address, the appropriate fax number will appear on each letter. It only takes a few minutes at http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=pln&hotissue=38 4. Ask your employees to write and call their senators and member of Congress. A letter can be sent through PLANET’s Legislative Action Center at http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=pln&hotissue=46 A sample letter for H-2B workers to send in English and Spanish can also be found on the PLANET H-2B Toolkit at http://www.landcarenetwork.org/cms/legislation/h2b.html 5. Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. A sample letter can be found on the PLANET H-2B Toolkit at http://landcarenetwork.org/planetFile/pdfs/H2B_LetterToTheEditor_Long.pdf. 6. Plan to come to the December 5 fly-in, and bring a friend or business associate to have double the impact. The fly-in is sponsored by the Save Small Business coalition. The event will begin with an 8:00 a.m. briefing by congressional staff followed by meetings with your congressional delegation. More details will be provided soon. If you are able to come, please contact Tom Delaney at 770/925-7113 for assistance with making appointments. |