The United Farm Workers says newly announced regulatory changes to the way that H-2A guestworker wages are calculated will reduce the wages of all farm workers across the U.S. The UFW says the move, which it says will cut income for farmworkers by a third, will undercut and displace American workers in agriculture.
UFW says these cuts will range from $5 to $7 an hour, depending on the state, and will cause farmworkers to lose $2.46 billion annually in wages and $17.29 billion in the next 10 years.
“Farm workers should be paid more, not less,” says Erica Lomeli Corcoran, UFW Foundation CEO. “This regulation is a win for corporate greed; a money grab for big agribusiness that transfers millions of dollars through wage cuts and housing deductions from workers to employers. The farm workers who feed us every day deserve so much more and we remain committed to ensuring that their labor and dignity is respected.”
UFW says some of these cuts fall below the state’s minimum wage when housing deductions are added for workers living in employer-provided housing.
UFW says examples of the reduction in wages include:
- California — $19.97 to $16.45 an hour; a reduction of $3.52 an hour (not including a further cut for workers, in the form of a housing deduction for workers who live in employer-provided housing, of $3; bringing the actual worker salary to $13.45 which is below the California state minimum wage).
- Georgia — $16.08 to $12.27; a reduction of $3.81 (before the housing deduction of $1.75).
- Michigan — $18.18 to $13.78; a reduction of $4.40 (before the housing deduction of $1.32).
- New York — $18.83 to $15.68; a reduction of $3.15 (before the housing deduction of $2.40).
- Washington — $19.82 to $16.53; a reduction of $3.29 (before the housing deduction of $2.49).
- Missouri — $18.65 to $14.56; a reduction of $4.09 (before the housing deduction of $1.28).
- Arizona — $17.04 to $15.32; a reduction of $1.72 (before the housing deduction of $2.10).
“The Trump wage cut is a catastrophe for American workers in agriculture who growers intend to replace with cheap and exploitable foreign guest workers,” says Teresa Romero, UFW president. “When guest worker wages are lowered, it is American jobs that are lost. With the H-2A visa having no cap, and with H-2A visa fraud already leading to H-2A workers taking up jobs in construction and other industries, the Trump wage cuts opens the gates to potentially unlimited American job losses.”
