July 6, 2011
www.gfb.org
Vol. 29 No. 27
CONCERNS OVER LABOR AIRED AT LISTENING SESSION WITH KINGSTON South Georgia farmers expressed frustrations over limited access to farm laborers during a listening session with Rep. Jack Kingston (R-1st Dist.) on June 30 at the Homerville City Auditorium, voicing concerns over government bureaucracy, the effects of Georgia’s new immigration law and the viability of the H-2A guest worker visa program. Similar concerns were shared with Georgia Reps. Jason Shaw (R-Lakeland) and Ellis Black (R-Valdosta) during a separate meeting the same day at the Lanier County Farm Bureau office. Kingston took a straw poll of the crowd of more than 100 people, asking questions about their experiences using H-2A and E-Verify, the federal government’s online work authorization verification program. Kingston said the agriculture industry has opportunities to form coalitions with the hotel/motel industry and the construction industry to create a larger voice on immigration issues. He also stressed that immigration reform should be accompanied by welfare reform. “If you’re on welfare right now it’s probably a $20,000 package,” Kingston said. “For somebody to go out in a hot field versus sitting around and getting free medication, food, housing and medical assistance, why would you want to do the work?” Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall spoke during the session with Kingston, saying farmers need help in the form of federal legislation to reform the H-2A program, which many farmers feel is too cumbersome to provide them with the workers they need. Duvall outlined points for improvement of the guest worker program, saying it should accommodate all agricultural producers, addressing needs for those that use seasonal help and those that need workers year-round. He also stressed that the guest worker program should be simple, placed under the supervision of one government department and include a program so workers currently in the U.S. can apply for work visas. Shaw also spoke at the Homerville meeting, outlining efforts in the Georgia General Assembly to minimize HB 87’s effects on agriculture. Dan Bremer of Agworks Inc. reviewed the requirements of the current H-2A program, noting that the use of undocumented workers is a declining option in states where E-Verify laws are in effect, leaving those states at a competitive disadvantage with states lacking such laws. “You have a responsibility to tell your elected officials what you want to have done,” Bremer said.