Washington, D.C.— The Illinois Nurserymen’s Association (INA) recently announced an impressive $50,000 contribution, to be paid in two installments, to the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) Beacon Fund. The Beacon Fund is the nursery and landscape industry’s victory fund, which is currently focused on passage of landmark labor and immigration reform legislation to benefit nursery and greenhouse growers, landscape contractors and other green industry businesses.
“The Illinois Nurserymen’s Association is proud to partner with ANLA in raising the awareness of Congress on critical industry needs,” said David Bender, INA executive director. “INA would ask each state association to consider contributing to this important fund.”
The Beacon Fund has brought legal and lobbying expertise to the labor reform battle. The ANLA-supported AgJOBS bills now enjoy the support of 53 Senate co-sponsors, 94 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, and a broad coalition of agriculture, business, labor, religious and Hispanic/Latino advocacy groups. “This unprecedented progress would not have been achieved without the generous support of many industry businesses and national, state, and regional association partners,” according to Craig Regelbrugge, ANLA’s senior director of government relations and national co-chair of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.
The Beacon Fund is also assisting with the effort to reform the H-2B guest worker program, used by an increasing number of landscape and landscape distribution companies who are struggling to find sufficient seasonal labor. According to John Meredith, ANLA’s director of legislative relations and a steering committee member of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC), “many industry employers now face worker shortages since the Congressionally mandated cap on H-2B admissions has been reached” according to a March 10 announcement by the Department of Homeland Security. Only 66,000 foreign seasonal guest worker visas are to be issued each year, unless Congress changes the law.
“ANLA is grateful for the unwavering commitment of the INA leadership and staff, and all who have supported the Beacon Fund, as we continue the relentless push toward victory,” added ANLA president Dale Bachman, of Bachman’s Inc. in Minnesota.