By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Without migrant labor, the U.S. agriculture industry would come to a standstill, but navigating concerns such as immigration laws, adequate housing and fair wages has been a nightmare for producers as well as the workers themselves.

There are things happening however, to help with some of the issues. Last month Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, along with Guatemalan Ambassador Francisco Villagrán De Léon and Nicaraguan Ambassador Francisco Campbell, signed declarations that will make it easier to protect the rights of Guatemalan and Nicaraguan citizens who work in the United States, according to information from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

“Individuals from Guatemala and Nicaragua make important contributions to the U.S. economy, and their workplace rights should be protected,” said Solis.  “I am pleased that the U.S., Guatemalan and Nicaraguan governments are working together to help make that happen.” The DOL noted in a statement that the “declarations will enable the regional enforcement offices of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Wage and Hour Division to cooperate with local Guatemalan and Nicaraguan embassies and consulates to distribute information to migrant workers about U.S. health, safety and wage laws. Training also will be provided to both migrant workers and their employers.”

The press release also stated: “The Wage and Hour Division will be able to protect migrant workers in low-wage industries such as hospitality and agriculture.”

That “low-wage” for agriculture statement has been one of debate by many farmers who have chosen to use the government’s H-2A quest worker program. As part of the program, ag employers are required to pay according to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) scale.

The AEWR is the minimum wage rate farmers and other ag employers who are seeking to use nonimmigrant alien workers must offer to pay their U.S. and alien workers, if the prevailing and federal or state minimum wage rates and the collective bargaining agreement are below the AEWR.

That rate varies from region to region. According to the DOL, the rate is $9.48 in Kentucky and Tennessee, $10.84 in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana, $10.62 in Michigan and $11.03 in Iowa and Missouri. Compared to these states’ minimum wage rates ($7.25 for most), the AEWR is considerably higher.

The AEWR is adjusted annually. This year the rate increased in many Midwest states, including the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas. The increase was substantial, by as much as 8.1 percent, according to the nonprofit migrant labor advocate Farmworker Justice (FJ). But the rate dropped in some states that are the biggest users of H-2A workers, like Kentucky, North Carolina and Louisiana.

FJ contends the AEWR “methodology is only minimally protective because it is based on USDA’s findings of the prior year’s average regional hourly wages for agricultural and livestock workers.” The group also notes agribusiness has lobbied to end the AEWR and lower the H-2A program wage rates.
Since 2000, the rate has shown steady increases in most states. In Kentucky for instance, the rate stood at $6.39 in 2000. Today’s rate of $9.48 represents a more than 48 percent increase. The exception came in 2009 when Bush administration changes went into effect and lowered the AEWR. Those changes were reversed by the Obama administration.

While pay rates and hiring regulations continue to be the focus of much debate, discussion and legislation of late centers on the legal vs. illegal status of immigrant laborers. By most accounts, a great number of foreign workers in this country are doing so illegally.

Last month, House Judiciary Committee Chair Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2164), a bill that would, among other things, mandate the use of an electronic employment verification system (EEVS) by every employer in the U.S., according to the National Immigration Law Center (NILC).

The NILC notes that in the “rules for agriculture” portion of the bill, “employers that employ seasonal agricultural workers must use the EEVS 36 months after enactment and can count seasonal workers hired in previous seasons as current employees who need not be verified.”

Smith said seven million workers are here illegally and with a 9 percent unemployment rate, available jobs should be going to legal workers. “E-Verify is a successful program to help ensure that jobs are reserved for citizens and legal workers,” he said. “The ‘E’ in E-Verify could just as well stand for ‘easy’ and ‘effective.’ It takes just a few minutes to use and easily confirms 99.5 percent of work-eligible employees. There is no other legislation that can be enacted that will create more jobs for American workers.”

Tyler Moran, NILC policy director, said to the Subcommittee on Immigration policy and Enforcement: “The Legal Workforce Act will mandate the use of an ineffective and expensive employment eligibility verification system that has grave consequences for our economy and unemployment rate. And despite all the rhetoric, the bill does nothing to create jobs and will even exacerbate the problems caused by our broken immigration system.”

Smith said an overwhelming majority of Americans – 82 percent, according to a recent Rasmussen poll – support making E-Verify mandatory.