| “Happiness is not defined by obtaining everything you want, but by appreciating everything you have.” — Anonymous |
| Regulatory Actions: |
| After long days spent toiling in fields under a hot Missouri sun, immigrant workers returned to what was once a county jail where their employer housed them in unsanitary living conditions and added to their misery by failing to pay them the wages they earned under their contract. |
| Grow NY Farm, an agriculture interest group, asked New Yorkers to call Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office on Thursday and urge her to keep the overtime threshold at 60 hours for agricultural workers. |
| Farmers are facing a perfect storm of challenges from inflation, supply shortages and higher labor costs. |
| A Turlock employer fined for labor violations questioned why a federal agency recently announced findings more than a year after completing an investigation. |
| A coalition of agricultural groups is pleading with lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom for relief from the state’s COVID-19 paid sick leave requirements. |
| H-2 and Other Worker Status Issues: |
| A group of labor and civil rights’ organizations are petitioning the Biden administration to reform a visa program that U.S. businesses use to recruit and employ foreign seasonal farmworkers. |
| While Customs and Border Patrol reported a14% decrease in encounters at the Southern Border from December 2021 to January 2022, the United States still remains on pace for about 1.9 million encounters for FY2022. |
| More than 30 House Republicans are urging the Biden administration to end COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truckers and agricultural workers coming across the U.S. border, warning that the mandates risk having a “catastrophic effect” on the supply chain crisis. |
| Smaller farmers often assume the federal H-2A guest worker program is not for them, but thousands of small growers already rely on the program and more are turning to it due to persistent labor shortages, according to speakers at the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association annual convention. |
| Safety: |
| Oregon’s workplace safety agency fined a St. Paul nursery and Woodburn-based labor contractor a total of $6,300, saying both companies failed to keep employees safe from the triple-digit temperatures that led to the death of a worker laying irrigation pipe last June. |
| Immigration Reform: |
| As part of its strategic commitment to government advocacy and leadership, the International Fresh Produce Association has played a key role in the creation of The Alliance for New Immigration Consensus, a diverse coalition representing the broad business community and focused on addressing workforce reforms and needs that are critical and essential to our nation’s economy. |
| NCAE This Week: |
| The House and Senate were in this week. Much of the focus in the Capitol this was on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is often referred to as the “breadbasket” of Europe. Commodity prices have received a jolt. Consequently, little attention was being paid on agricultural labor reform. However, we have several meetings coming up with Senate staff as well as staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee to tee this up once again for movement. NCAE had several opportunities this week to work with the media and Members of Congress on the land border crossing vaccination requirement. Members drafted and submitted several letters on this issue to the White House hoping to achieve a shift in policy. Spring is going to show up one of these days. One of those harbingers of the change in season will occur on Sunday in all of the states except Arizona with the beginning of daylight savings time. Don’t forget to spring your clocks ahead. Have a great weekend! Michael |
| News articles and citations of interest for week ending 2022/03/11 |
| When Western Growers launched the Global Harvest Automation Initiative in February 2021 at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif., one of the key deliverables was an annual report that took a quantitative look at how harvest innovation is impacting ag operators and which innovators are doing the heavy lifting by crop type. |
| As Wisconsin farms prepare for the upcoming growing season, some producers are having a hard time finding enough workers. |
| The tilt of power in the U.S. labor market to employers and away from workers in recent decades may have lowered wages by 20% compared to a “fully competitive market,” a new report from the Treasury Department concluded. |
| The U.S. Apple Association launched Apple Quest, an online game that informs players about the important role apple laborers play in the U.S. economy and the need for a stable, legal and reliable workforce. |
| Wednesday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed there were 11.3 million job openings in January, little changed from 11.4 million the month before. |
| Our mailing address is: 525 9th Street, NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20004 Phone: 202-629-9320 Email: info@ncaeonline.org www.ncaeonline.org |
Maryland Grape Growers
Non-profit organization of grape growers and winemakers in Maryland.
Winegrape Growers of America – NCAE March 11 News Brief
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