New statewide numbers show that growers are increasingly more comfortable with a federal guest worker program that allows them to hire documented foreign help instead of local workers who may not have legal immigration status. But with a growing H-2A program, some employers are worried about possible tensions between the two groups of workers: the illegal immigrants who have traditionally worked the harvest and the foreign workers who may get preference in the hiring process. As of Tuesday, growers in the state had filed 28 applications for 1,637 workers under the federal H-2A program that allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers from Mexico if they can prove the local supply is inadequate. That's on pace to beat all of last year, which saw 31 applications for a total of 1,657 workers. Not all of those workers arrived for one reason or another, so the total number of H-2A guest workers in the state last year was 1,140. More than half worked for Selah-based Zirkle Fruit Co., which hired 600 H-2As for orchards spanning Central Washington. Labeled by employers as overly bureaucratic, the federal H-2A program has been slow to catch on in Washington compared with states such as North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. But growers here are learning the ropes with help from farm labor contractors and established organizations including the Washington Growers League in Yakima and the Washington State Farm Bureau. Parker Heights grower Rob Valicoff has studied the program in detail and first used foreign guest workers last year. He thinks the use of H-2A workers is bound to increase without a comprehensive solution to immigration reform. "As more and more growers use it and word gets around, they'll get more confident about the program," Valicoff said.  Although state officials are required to direct local residents to farm jobs, they also believe the use of H-2A will become more common. "I think we can expect it to continue to grow as growers become more experienced at using it," said Sheryl Hutchison, spokeswoman for the state Employment Security Department in Olympia. The department runs WorkSource centers, which try to fill agricultural jobs first with local residents. The department also gathers wage data used by the federal government to determine H-2A pay. Increasing use of the guest worker program is a reflection of the demand for a stable source of farm labor and employer concerns about the immigration status of local workers. Employers in the past have worried about immigration raids and liability if they hire undocumented workers -- unwittingly or not. Farm worker rights groups, meanwhile, have been suspicious of H-2A because workers are beholden to one employer for the entire contract period -- up to 10 months -- and can't shop for the highest wages. Workers can be blacklisted if they complain about working conditions and unscrupulous employers can manipulate the contract to drive down their costs. But the United Farm Workers Union has decided it wants a piece of the H-2A action. In April, the union announced an agreement with the state of Michoacán in western Mexico to help recruit guest workers to the United States. They would arrive under a union contract. "If this is something that's going to be utilized more in the future, then we've got to get in on it," UFW President Arturo Rodriguez said in a news release at the time. "We're looking for enlightened employers who are willing to sit down and do this with us." So far, no employer in the state of Washington has taken the UFW up on its offer. Some growers here are more worried about friction between the guest workers and local workers over wages, benefits and working conditions. Guest workers from Mexico earn a higher minimum wage and growers must provide them with room and board, local transportation and round-trip bus fare from Mexico. "If you're a local guy and you've paid $2,000 to a coyote to come over here illegally and you see these guys getting new housing, there's some animosity," said Dan Fazio, director of employer services for the Washington Farm Bureau. One Lower Valley grower, who asked that his name not be used because he didn't want to anger longtime employees, said he's seen crew bosses try to intimidate H-2A workers. "Their thinking is that if there's no H-2A program, they'll have to legalize everyone that's already here," said the grower. Under the H-2A program, employers this year must pay at least $9.94 an hour compared with the state minimum wage of $8.07. But all workers earn more under a piece rate, which rewards them for faster picking. If the piece rate, or prevailing wage, is higher than $9.94, employers have to pay the higher rate. But even the piece rate is problematic. The U.S. Department of Labor, for example, surveyed the apple industry and determined that the piece rate on Fujis should be $23 a bin. (A bin of Fujis takes more than an extra hour to pick than less expensive varieties because the fruit bruises easily and must be handled carefully.) But the federal survey lumps small growers in with larger ones and doesn't account for different growing methods. Picking fruit from big trees atop eight-foot ladders is going to take much longer than harvesting an orchard of dwarf trees. Brendan Monahan, an industry lawyer who is defending Zirkle Fruit Co. against a lawsuit over productivity standards, said the federal government needs to fine-tune its wage surveys. "As H-2A becomes more prevalent in any given segment of agriculture, it needs to find its footing and really ascertain nuances and differences within each crop," Monahan said. The lawsuit against Zirkle alleges the company failed to comply with H-2A requirements by failing to disclose tougher work requirements and not fully reimbursing travel expenses, driving wages below the minimum. The case, filed in January, is pending in federal court in Yakima. It's too early to know if there will be a significant labor shortage this season and, if there is, how local wages might be affected. Last year was a laborer's market in some varieties of apples. For instance, some growers paid as much as $4 more per bin above the average of $14 to $18 for Golden Delicious apples. Valicoff said he delayed his order for 90 H-2A workers by about a week because of frost damage, which means the crop size is uncertain. "Red Delicious got beat up pretty good," he said.  * Leah Beth Ward can be reached at 577-7626 or lward@yakimaherald.com.  New statewide numbers show that growers are increasingly more comfortable with a federal guest worker program that allows them to hire documented foreign help instead of local workers who may not have legal immigra City Desk, LOCAL

2008-05-13T14:43:49Z

by Leah Ward

2008-05-14T06:14:22Z

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2008-05-15T19:47:18Z

Guest worker program gains popularity but could lead to discord 4018 guest-worker-program-gains-popularity-but-could-lead-to-discord Web Lead Story

Yakima Herald-Republic

2008-05-14T07:00:00Z

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Guest worker program gains popularity but could lead to discord published Web Daily

2009-03-20T02:26:20Z