Bipartisan effort hopes to freeze H-2A wages

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., and 74 of his colleagues have sent a bipartisan letter to House and Senate appropriations leaders requesting an H-2A visa guest worker wage freeze in an upcoming spending package. 

Huizenga’s office said in a news release that the Adverse Effect Wage Rate — the required wage that farm employers must pay H-2A workers — has more than doubled since 2005. Huizenga said the national average for AEWR is $17.55 an hour this year, a more than 5% increase year over year. The AEWR in the representative's home state of  Michigan is $18.50.

Added increased costs of farming, including fuel and fertilizer, have put a pinch on farmers, the release said.

“A temporary wage freeze is a reasonable way to alleviate this skyrocketing financial burden and give our farmers a chance to compete, stay in business, and put food on the table for millions of Americans and the world,” Huizenga’s office said in the release.

In the letter, the congressional members said the freeze would provide much-needed relief.

“USDA data shows that hired farm labor costs account for nearly 15 percent of total cash expenses. More labor-intensive industries will be hardest hit, including specialty crop growers, who already spend nearly 40 percent of their total cash expenses on labor alone,” the letter stated. “If we do nothing, many of our constituents will be forced to shutter their businesses, despite good-faith efforts to ensure our national food security and feed families across our nation.”

Agricultural leaders across America are voicing support for the inclusion of a proposed H-2A wage freeze and detailing the negative impact an increase would have on farmers, growers and producers, according to the release.

Industry support

Some of the industry representatives offering statements in favor of the proposal include:

• Cathy Burns, CEO of the International Fresh Produce Association — “The fresh produce supply chain cannot survive, let alone thrive, under the constant barrage of regulatory burdens and cost increases imposed on our industry. This bipartisan effort led by Rep. Huizenga to provide much-needed meaningful relief as Congress seeks broader reforms is exactly what our industry needs right now. Absent a comprehensive solution to agricultural workforce challenges, Congress must act immediately to provide wage relief to producers before we lose more farms in America.”
• Jim Bair, president and CEO of the U.S. Apple Association — “The U.S. Apple Association thanks Representative Huizenga for leading this bipartisan effort to bring stability and relief for growers throughout the nation. The cost of growing apples increased 65 percent in three years, and the main culprit is the cost of labor. Nearly all apples are grown by multi-generational family farms and they cannot sustain another year of these cost increases. We call on the Congress to enact this freeze and pass common-sense reforms to the H-2A program.”
• Carl Bednarski, president of the Michigan Farm Bureau — “Michigan farmers are at a crossroads — we are stuck with an unrealistic and unpredictable wage rate structure that is forcing many to think twice about growing fruits and vegetables in our state. Michigan Farm Bureau is incredibly grateful to Congressman Huizenga and the bipartisan group of his colleagues for their leadership on this critical issue. They understand the dire situation Michigan farmers face as a result of the Adverse Effect Wage Rate and are working to find commonsense solutions that keep farmers in business and U.S.-grown fruits, vegetables and other foods available on the store shelves for all our consumers.”