|
Announcement from NCGA President Stan Eury on Immigration Senate Bill 744
Story Date: 11/11/2014
| |
Source: Stan Eury, President, NC GROWERS ASSOCIATION, 11/11/14
The increase in the H-2A Program in 2014 show the program would have failed under Immigration Senate Bill 744. H-2A program for Fiscal Year 2014 released last week by the Department of Labor show that the H-2A program is growing in spite of the Obama Administration's attack on the program and its users. From FY 2013 to FY 2014, the number of H-2A worker positions certified increased by 18%. The number of applications from FY2013 to FY2014 also increased by 13%.1 NCGA is still the nations single largest program user. North Carolina remains the #1 user (state) of the H-2A program, bringing in up to14,502 H-2A workers in FY2014, a 17% increase from last year. Several states had significantly large increases in the number of H-2A workers certified, including a 45% increase in Washington, 44% in California and 35% in Florida. The increase in H-2A program usage has not been limited to this past year. The program has more than doubled in size in recent years: from about 48,000 worker positions certified in FY 2005 to about 117,000 worker positions certified in FY 2014 -an increase of 141%.
Senate Bill 755 had a 100,000 worker cap on H2A visas - NCGA warned American Farm Bureau, AWC, ACIR and H2A users that the 100,000 worker cap was insufficient to meet industry needs. WE EXCEEDED THE CAP IN THE VERY FIRST YEAR! NCGA will continue to fight for a workable guest worker solution - we will never settle for a solution that does not meet our industry's needs in year one! Remember S.744 also did not add one worker to the ag labor workforce. This was an incredible oversight and poor negotiation by ag industry leaders.
For more, go to http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/pdf/H-2A_Selected_Statistics_FY2014_Q4.pdf
|
|
|
|
