The never-ending, never-worse, problem with labor

Now and again and ever since I can remember, there have been discussions about whether U.S. workers want to do the hard work of harvesting artichokes, picking tomatoes, or climbing a tree to pick apples.

A certain element of society has always been of the mind that Americans SHOULD want to work hard, they SHOULD want to do any job that is vacant if those American workers find themselves idled and out of work.

Perhaps all of us hold that belief that at some level. Notwithstanding the preferences of myself or hopes for my children, why can’t farm jobs be filled by some other nameless Americans? Growers should increase wages a bit and then they could have applicants standing in line for an honest day’s work, we seem to think.

Farmers are the first to disabuse people of such populist opinions. There is no way, no how, that U.S. workers are showing up to harvest green beans.

American workers have stayed away in droves from the most demanding farm jobs. Many jobs are filled by undocumented migrants.
The question is increasingly moot. American fresh produce growers have an increasingly necessary reliance on guest workers from the H-2A program. Despite the high cost of the program, it is an essential piece to continued domestic fruit and vegetable production.

Last week, The American Mushroom Institute wrote issued a news release stating that “retailers are facing fresh mushroom shortages as producers struggle to find labor for their operations.”

“Now more than ever we need our national labor strategy to be competitive,” the group said in a news release. The group urged the Senate to take up the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would establish a Certified Agricultural Worker status and open the H-2A temporary worker program to include the mushroom industry.

“We urge the Senate to quickly take up and pass the legislation to help align labor supply with consumer demand.” 

In a recent survey about labor shortage by The Packer, one grower summed up the reasons for the labor shortage as “government entitlements.” “(There is) no incentive to work when you can get over $500/week not working.”

Other respondents agreed:

• “Many businesses are currently experiencing labor shortages due to easy to obtain unemployment benefits offered to the public.  These benefits exceed potential wages in most cases.  It is much easier to stay home and easily live off the government than to work and earn your living.”
• “It is critical to the food supply in America and if immigration and H-2A is not modified,  the food supply will be impacted significantly. Americans are NOT interested in this type of work and no matter what we pay, this will not change.  They must do something immediately.”

It is not only “down on the farm” where labor woes are escalating.
Now, the concern about labor is spreading, and many point to government programs that have been put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I

n a recent letter to President Joe Biden, the National Grocers Association asked his administration to advance policies that encourage unemployed Americans “to seek work and provide resources to businesses in need of help.”

 “Congress, governors and the administration must focus its efforts on fixing the broken unemployment insurance program to ensure the system does not discourage recipients from finding work,” NGA President and CEO Greg Ferrara said in the letter to Biden. “While unemployed Americans certainly need a safety net as they try to get back on their feet, the benefits of combined unemployment and stimulus policies should not meet or exceed prior compensation, or businesses will be competing with the government for labor.”

Ferrara said that the retail industry has increased pay, offered bonuses and provided overtime opportunities.

“Despite these efforts, the industry is at a crisis point in its struggle to find qualified employees and keep grocery stores operational for hungry consumers.”

Amazingly, a recent NGA member survey found that 100% of respondents reported workforce and labor access challenges, “with problems becoming significantly more acute in the last two months since Biden signed the American Rescue Plan.”

“It is simply impossible for grocers who exist on razor-thin profit margins to compete for work when the government is paying workers to stay home,” Ferrara said in the letter.

Will Biden be moved on this argument? If so, what would that look like?

Unfortunately, I think tight labor conditions will continue, a reality that will favor larger growers and businesses who can invest in automated harvesting or packing technology.

Problem solved, eventually, right?

It is when the robots don’t want to show up and pick produce that our real problems begin.