Those not involved in finding on-farm labor may be confused or even concerned over the prospect of H-2A guest workers on U.S. farms.
The Ag Director of the Washington Policy Center is setting out to dispel some of the myths surrounding the impactful program. For example, the idea that H-2A workers take away jobs that would otherwise be filled by locals.
“You have to advertise for a minimum of 60 days ahead of your first date of hire, and effectively prove to the U.S. Department of Labor that there is a labor shortage in your area. As in, there are no people who are able-bodied, have the ability, or the desire to work for you for 50% of that contract, so however long they’re here. If they are here for six months, for three months after your H-2A workers arrive, you have to give preference to local hires,” according to Pam Lewson.
That means if in the first three months of 50 H-2A workers being hired, 50 local workers show up, the H-2A workers must wait while locals are hired but you still pay the H-2A workers.
A common myth is that the H-2A program lowers wages, but it is actually designed to be costly due to the adverse effect wage rate, which in Washington state this year is $19.25 per hour.
“That is the least amount of money that you can pay not only an H-2A worker but any local employee working alongside that H-2A worker doing the same job. So, while we have an anecdotal wage of about $23.40, what is causing that wage to increase so far is that minimum threshold of the $19.25 because no one is going to show up for the state minimum wage of $16 if they can go somewhere else and earn $3 more just because there is someone there who has a visa,” she adds.
Lewison says that agricultural wages of today are actually significantly increased rather than being depressed as some recent legislation suggests.
