H-2B and AgJOBS Bills Could See Vote Next Week

The American Nursery & Landscape Association  (ANLA) remains on track with its plans to have labor reform bills voted on in early April. While Mayland Senator Barbara Mikulski, author of the Save Our Small & Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 jested that she hoped to get the bill passed by Baltimore Orioles opening day on April 4, the bill could see a vote as early as next week, still giving lawn and landscape companies a chance to acquire H-2B workers for the 2005 season. Likewise, the AgJOBS bill, which focuses on H-2A workers and other labor reform in the agricultural sector could go before congress in the same timeframe.

In the meantime, ANLA is encouraging members and industry professionals in support of the bills to write, call and fax their senators and members of congress frequently before the bill sees a vote. “Our Senate champions can only succeed if every nursery grower, landscape business, distributor and retailer speaks out now,” the association said in a press release Wednesday. The group noted that opponents of the bills could successfully block their passage if the green industry does not effectively voice its support.

“Both bills have broad bipartisan support in the Senate and both bills also have enemies:  The anti-immigrant movement in America is alive, well, and organized,” the release says. “They are not interested in whether agriculture and small business survive and their agenda calls for "closing the border," rounding up and deporting the 10.3 million aliens working in the U.S. without proper status, and penalizing the farms and businesses hiring them. They will block these urgent reforms unless growers and landscape professionals make their case now.”

Anyone interested in participating in ANLA’s letter-writing campaign may visit the association’s Web site and use a form letter drafted by ANLA. Alternatively, supporters may draft their own letters to their Members of Congress or edit the language posted on ANLA’s site.

ANLA also encourages green industry business owners to have their employees write and send letters, as well. “Ten letters from ten of your employees makes your voice ten times louder,” the press release notes.

Regarding the H-2B bill in particular, the Save Our Small & Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 (S. 352 and H.R. 793) has greatly surpassed the 100-cosponsor mark. As of press time, 33 senators and 73 representatives have added their names in support of the bill, which would take the following six steps toward temporary H-2B reform, paving the way for widespread changes in the future:

• Exempt workers who have participated in the H-2B program for any of the past 3 fiscal years from the 66,000 cap and direct the Department of Homeland Security to immediately resume the processing of petitions for these workers. This provision would take effect immediately and expire on Oct. 1, 2006.
• Allow the Department of Homeland Security to impose a “fraud prevention and detection” fee of $150 for each petition filed. This section would not take effect until Oct. 1, 2005.
• Allow the Department of Homeland Security to impose a fine of up to $10,000 per violation and prohibit the use of the H-2B program for one to five years for a “willful misrepresentation of a material fact” in a petition. This section would not take effect until Oct. 1, 2005.
• Specifies that only 33,000 of the 66,000 workers subject to the cap can be used during the first six months of the fiscal year. This provision would be a permanent change to the program.
• Require the Department of Homeland Security to notify Congress on a quarterly basis of the number of visas issued and the number of visas that were expired or revoked. This reporting must be in place by March 1, 2006.
• Require the Department of Homeland Security to report annually to Congress, beginning in fiscal 2007, on the number of visas issued and expired and on the previous fiscal year’s H-2B workers’ countries of origin, occupations and wages.

Further emphasizing the urgent need for H-2B reform, Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) President Dan Foley also announced today that, because of a lack of H-2B workers, the green industry is currently in a "state of emergency."

"We have members who report that they may have to close down their businesses if the bills beofre Congress do not pass soon," Foley says. "Now that the landscape contracting and lawn care service season is underway, workers are desperately needed."

Many other industries including canneries and seafood processors, hospitality, horse training and breeding, and theme and amusement parks also rely heavily on seasonal foreign workers. As such, associations representing these industries have joined with ANLA and PLANET to create the H-2B Workforce Coalition, which is spearheading lobbying efforts in Washington. One argument the group is facing from opponents of the bills is that H-2B and other programs take jobs away from American workers. Not so, PLANET explains.

"These are jobs that Americans simply will not take," argues PLANET Secretary/Treasurer Maria Candler of James River Grounds Management in Glen Ellen, Va. "We have advertised and worked to recruit for years, and we can only find H-2B guest workers for these positions that are critical to our survival."

Foley adds that contractors meeting with, faxing, writing or calling their Members of Congress in Washington must emphasize that a lack of H-2B workers will ultimately hurt American small business. "With a lack of guest workers, many companies find that they will have to lay off middle- and upper-management to survive," he says. "It's not just about having a workforce. By allowing guest workers to fill these jobs, American companies can prosper and contribute to a strong U.S. economy. Without these workers, companies cannot fuel the economy via capital investments in trucks, equipment, facilities, etc. It's a domino effect that impacts additional industries."