Handling H-2A a Priority For this Florida Citrus Farm
July 21, 2010 With all eyes on Arizona, immigration has risen again to the top of the political agenda. It is one of those issues ripe for battle and strong positions on all sides.
Growers are right in the middle of the debate, arguing the critical importance of migrant workers in farm operations. But, no matter how strongly agriculture makes the case, there are a large percentage of anti-immigration people who will not be moved. While growers wait on reform (like AgJobs), there is some shelter offered by the H-2A program. The program brings in farm labor from Mexico legally each year.
While H-2A offers shelter, you will likely here a litany of complaints when discussing the program with many growers. “It’s too complicated” and “expensive” is a common refrain. Justin Sorrells, owner and general manager of Sorrells Citrus and DeSoto Fruit & Harvesting agrees, but he will quickly add that his family’s citrus growing operation and custom grove care and harvesting company, “love it.”
“It is a cumbersome and over-regulated program that is too expensive, but putting all of that aside, H-2A works for us,” says Sorrells. “We’ve been using the program for 11 years now to bring in more than 400 employees annually. Having done it so long, we’ve encountered all the hang-ups and our office staff knows how to operate H-2A easily.”
Using the program has built a family type quality among the workers over the years. Sorrells notes that more than half of the workforce have worked here for the past seven years or more. “You know a father will come one year and then next year he will bring his son, cousin, or uncle,” he says. “It has built a big camaraderie throughout the crew.”
Sorrells’ Solutions
In his experience with H-2A, Sorrells points out five major problems with the program, which they have learned to live with and make the program a success.
1. Adverse Effect Wage Rate: For the 2010-2011 harvest season, the AWR will be $9.20 per hour, meaning that Sorrells’ H-2A pickers are guaranteed that amount per hour. This causes a greater cost burden on the companies involved in the program because non-H-2A companies have to only pay the new $7.25 minimum wage.
“To solve this particular situation, we have to be able to develop a workforce whose production is better than average,” says Sorrells. “We pay by the tub, so we have to be sure our pickers will make more than $9.20 by the piece in an hour’s time.”
2. Accurate Record Keeping: It is imperative to keep accurate time and wage information on every picker every day to avoid any problems. “We have obtained accuracy in record keeping by moving to electronic time keeping in the field says Sorrells. “We worked with a local company to help develop computer software specifically for H-2A, which is called Pro-Pak.”
3. Excessive Paperwork: Sorrells says it is a long process to get the workers from Mexico to Florida each year. It all starts with a petition sent to the U.S. Department of Labor for approval. Once it is approved there, then it has to be sent for approval to Homeland Security. The whole process can take up to 90 days.
Every picker has to have a passport and visa, which the expense is paid for by the company. The Mexican consulate must interview and approve each picker, then comes company registration and orientation, followed up by daily time and attendance records. All this information must be kept for three years.
4. Expense Of Housing Each Worker: The company must provide free OSHA-approved housing that is inspected monthly to ensure that it continues to meet standards for the duration of the harvesting season.
“We designed H-2A-specific housing to meet OSHA standards and allow for efficient living accommodations for the pickers,” says Sorrells. “Last year, our labor facility was voted the best migrant housing facility in the state of Florida.”
5. Transportation: Sorrells is responsible for paying the travel expenses for the trips to and from Mexico to Florida for each worker, plus a per diem for food while on the trips.
“We are required to provide free transportation for the duration of the harvest season,” he adds. “This transportation includes to and from the work site and weekly trips to buy groceries, laundry, and any other necessary errands that must be made during the work week. We utilize a fleet of 16 refurbished school buses to move our crews around.”
H-2A Upsides
With all its challenges, H-2A offers a number of benefits, not the least of which is peace of mind that your workers are in the country legally. Here are few more noted by Sorrells.
– Guaranteed Workforce: “We have a reliable group of workers for the entire harvest season,” says Sorrells. “We know how many workers we will have for a given season and how much fruit we feel we can pick with that workforce. They work six days a week and the company never has to second-guess their attendance.”
– Signed Contract And Guidelines: The contract spells out specifically what the company’s obligations are to the worker and what the worker’s obligation is to the company. The contract leads to less daily problems because everyone is on the same page.
H-2A regulation gives guidelines the worker must follow to stay eligible for the program. These guidelines include any legal trouble with the state, the county, or breaking any of the rules the company has set up for the workers.
“If a worker breaks any of these rules, they are banned from the H-2A program for a period of 10 years, and currently this is the only agricultural program that they are permitted into the U.S. legally,” says Sorrells. “They have an incentive to work hard and behave, for lack of a better term.”
– H-2A Is Good For The Worker: Each worker makes $500 to $600 a week because of a higher minimum hourly wage provided by the adverse effect wage rate. These workers have no housing expenses or transportation expenses. Each worker is guaranteed an amount of money per year because of the three-quarter guarantee. Once the worker signs the contract, the company is responsible to provide work or pay the equivalent for three-quarters of time stated under that contract. This allows the company to attract a quality picker because of the benefits that the H-2A program provides.