3 minute read
Agriculture Workforce
Expert Opinion: Agriculture Workforce
Luiz Franca Filho, Business Development Director
Immigrant workers have been a vital part of the U.S. agricultural industry for many years, providing the labor needed to grow and harvest the country's crops, with 73% of crop farm workers and 48% of hired crop farmworkers being immigrant workers.
These numbers highlight the significant contribution that immigrant workers make to the agriculture sector.
Such an important source of labor for many agricultural operations, especially those that require a large workforce for seasonal crops like fruits and vegetables, needs more attention. In recent years, there has been a growing debate about the need for comprehensive immigration reform that would allow these workers to be hired properly and ensures they are treated fairly.
Despite the challenges that immigrant workers face, their contribution to the U.S. economy and to the agricultural sector, in particular, cannot be overstated. They play a crucial role in helping to ensure that America has a stable and reliable source of food, and their work helps to keep the U.S. agricultural industry competitive in a global market.
Recent immigration reform initiatives, such as the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, aim to increase the number of legal foreign workers available to farms, increase food production, and lower prices for all consumers.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed the House of Representatives in 2019 and 2021 and now awaits further action by the U.S. Senate. The bill makes meaningful reforms to the H-2A agricultural guest-worker program and creates a first-of-its-kind, merit-based visa program specifically designed for the nation's agricultural sector.
The bill will:
1. Establish a program for agricultural workers in the United States to earn legal status through continued agricultural employment and contribution to the U.S. agricultural economy.
2. Reform the H-2A program to provide more flexibility for employers, while ensuring critical protections for workers. The bill focuses on modifications to make the program more responsive and user-friendly for employers and provides access to the program for industries with year-round labor needs.
3. Establish mandatory, nationwide E-Verify system for all agricultural employment with a structured phase-in and guaranteed due process for authorized workers who are incorrectly rejected by the system.
Luiz Franca Filho, Business Development Director, Hayman-Woodward
Luiz Franca Filho is a celebrated business development director and expert in the hospitality, food, and services.
The executive worked in the best hotels in Brazil, including the Copacabana Palace and Fasano, where he developed his business development skills for an upscale and high-net-worth clientele. Following this experience, he worked for several years as a gastronomic consultant for Nestlé in Brazil before developing a solid career at Harley-Davidson. He now holds the Director of Business Development position for HAYMAN-WOODWARD’s Dubai branch in the UAE.
