H-2B Users Get Update at Second Fly-in

H-2B users who were deterred by winter storms in February attended the second Fly-in of the year March 6 in Washington, D.C. Advocates from the hotel and seafood industries joined lawn and landscape professionals to learn the status of a potential introduction of H-2B cap exemption legislation in Congress.

Although the group couldn’t escape frigid weather the second time around, it was pleasant compared to the snow and sleet that affected the first Fly-in’s attendance. About 40 attendees made the trip this time, driven by the concern that not all companies who use H-2B will get the number of workers they need for the season. “It’s awful trying to run a business when the labor force is unpredictable,” says Tom Delaney, director of legislative affairs for the Professional Landcare Network. “It makes it tough.”

The seasonal worker program currently has a yearly cap of 66,000 workers. The provision that states returning workers aren’t counted against the cap is set to expire Sept. 30. H-2B users are pushing, at the very least, to extend the cap exemption another year. The ultimate goal is to remove the sunset clause or to remove the cap altogether.

Delaney’s not sure how quickly legislation will be introduced, citing uncertainty among some legislators on the length of time the exemption should be in place. He doesn’t think it’s out of the question to see a 5-year exemption proposed.

The challenge is getting all the legislators who co-sponsored the bill in the past to step up to the plate again. “The rank-and-file majority will not do it too many times,” Delaney says, but he adds that some H-2B users will contact their legislators as many times as it takes before they’ll sponsor or support the bill.

So far there hasn’t been talk of another Fly-in, but if legislation is introduced, or if it falls out of lawmakers’ minds, H-2B users will gather again.

“We’re always going to want the exemption,” Delaney says, adding, “Whatever date they put in there we’ll be back trying to get it extended or permanent.”