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It was a busy day in Washington, D.C. for dozens of lawn and landscape contractors and small business owners from several other industries joining the fight to keep H-2B as a viable option for seasonal labor. About 100 small business representatives met up in Washington on Wednesday, March 15 for the H-2B Fly-In announced by the Professional Landcare Network and Save Small Business just two weeks ago. As many people were unable to attend the event due to the short notice, the turnout was a pleasant surprise for event organizers.
“We’re so happy to see that so many people were able to come to this event now,” said Hank Lavery of the grassroots organization Save Small Business as he welcomed attendees to a Wednesday morning issue briefing. “We know how busy your seasons are right now and we also know that the Senators and Representatives in Congress are busy, so the fact that everyone has made an effort to set up meetings today and talk about this issue is fantastic.”
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As with last year’s fly-in, attendees concerned themselves with the Save Our Small & Seasonal Businesses Act, which passed with an overwhelming majority vote when attached to a supplemental appropriations bill in May 2005. Among other things, the bill allowed H-2B workers who had successfully used the program in any of the previous three years to receive and H-2B visa without counting against the restrictive 66,000-visa cap. This year, the Save Our Small & Seasonal Businesses Act of 2006 contains identical language as the current legislation, but extends its provisions through 2009 – another temporary, but much needed H-2B fix in the midst of congressional debate over comprehensive immigration reform.
PUSHING FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS. Proving that H-2B impacts companies of all sizes and revenue volumes, many representatives from companies on Lawn & Landscape’s Top 100 List were in Washington for the Fly-In, as well as a number of smaller companies from around the country.
“Ten percent of our labor force nationwide comes from H-2B,” said Berenice Campos of ValleyCrest, Calabasas, Calif. 20 of ValleyCrest’s several dozen branch offices utilize the H-2B program “We generally bring in about 900 workers on H-2B visas and when the cap was reached in December, that really sent us scrambling. Thankfully, because of the legislation that was passed last year, 600 of our workers were returning, so they were exempted from the cap, but some of our branches weren’t so lucky.”
ValleyCrest was No. 2 on the 2005 Top 100 List. Also in attendance were representatives from Acres Group, Wauconda, Ill. (No. 22); GroundMasters, Cincinnati, Ohio, (No. 46); and Moore Landscapes, Northbrook, Ill., all of whom also attended last year to lobby their Congress Members. Representatives from many smaller landscape companies also made the trip to D.C., including Chuck Twist, TNT Lawn & Landscape, Stillwater, Okla.; Chad Stern, Mowing & More, Chevy Chase, Md.; Vince Del Vacchio, Del Vacchio Landscapes, Edgemont, Pa.; Tony Sposato, Sposato Landscape, Milton, Del.
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In addition to Campos, many other businesses in attendance said the Save Our Small & Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 had an important positive impact on their companies in 2005. “The provisions from last year’s legislation let us use the H-2B program with 100 percent success this year, but everything was harder,” says Twist. “Without last year’s bill, there wouldn’t have been a chance.”
Twist has been passionate about the H-2B issue for several years. In addition to coming to Washington for H-2B Fly-Ins this year and last year, he has also helped coordinate an event specific to his state of Oklahoma, which will be held March 24.
“I found out about a state event that was held in Denver that was a big success, and I got in touch with Scott Evans at FEWA to put one together for Oklahoma,” Twist tells Lawn & Landscape. FEWA, the Federation of Employers and Workers of America, lobbies the H-2B issue on behalf of the green industry, service industry, travel and tourism, and other users. “In addition to FEWA, we’ve got the support of the Oklahoma Nursery & Landscape Association and the Oklahoma Greenhouse Growers. Oklahoma as a state is one of the smallest users of the H-2B program, but for those companies that do use it, it’s an essential program. When my representatives and senators ask me if I could have stayed in business without the H-2B program, I’ve told them I could have stayed in business, but I probably wouldn’t because I wouldn’t have been able to do it legally. H-2B is incredibly important.”
GARNERING SUPPORT. Overall, it was a mixed day for attendees on Capitol Hill. Chris Hayes of GroundMasters said his delegation’s meeting with Representative Anne Northup (R-Ky.) went well and that the Congresswoman agreed to sign on as a cosponsor of the bill.
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Meanwhile, Twist’s meeting with a legislative assistant from Senator James Inhofe’s (R-Okla.) was productive, though slightly less impactful in terms of gaining co-sponsors for the bill. Inhofe is one of only four senators to oppose the bill’s passage last year. He currently is postponing any support for the Save our Small & Seasonal Businesses Act of 2006 until a bill on comprehensive immigration reform is finalized. That bill is currently being marked-up by the Senate Judiciary Committee, though organizers of the Fly-In encouraged attendees to push their legislators to view the H-2B issue as separate from the immigration bill.
“You’ll hear a lot of Members say their waiting to see what will happen with the comprehensive immigration reform bill before making any decisions about H-2B, but that’s really just an excuse to wait,” said Erin Corcoran, of Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s office. Like last year, Mikulski is sponsoring the H-2B legislation. “The senate is working on marking up this bill, but even if it passes right away, there’s no indication of when it will actually go into effect. It’s important to make sure your senators and representatives understand that the H-2B bill represents part of a two-track approach to immigration reform that will allow comprehensive reform to take shape without taking away employers’ ability to use H-2B.”
Organizers of the Fly-In encouraged attendees to continue sending letters, faxing and calling their Congress Members about the H-2B issue. “Your senators and representatives really do want to hear how important this bill is to the survival of your business,” Corcoran said. “Our office can sent out ‘Dear Colleague,’ letters to all the other members, but that doesn’t mean as much as hearing from constituents.”
As the Save Our Small & Seasonal Businesses Act of 2006 continues to gain cosponsors and support, Sen. Mikulski’s office is looking at a number of opportunities to ensure it’s passage. The bill (S. 2284 and H.R. 4740) will likely be attached to another piece of legislation for a vote. Visit Lawn & Landscape Online often for updates on this developing legislative situation.