Sunday, March 15, 2009
Migrant Worker Manuel R. Lopez (photo: Noelle M. Steele, Greenfied, Indiana Daily Reporter)
One week before Christmas, the Bush administration changed the rules to make it easier and cheaper for agricultural businesses to employ temporary foreign workers. On Friday, within hours of being sworn in as Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis announced that she would suspend implementation of the Bush regulations for nine months, pending ten days of open comment from the public. The Bush rules went into effect three days before President Bush left office.
The issue pits growers and agribusiness against farm workers and labor unions. The Bush rules reduce wages and travel reimbursements for many farm workers and allow growers to self-certify guest workers as qualified. Erik Nicholson, vice president of the United Farm Workers, called the Bush rules “some of the worst setbacks for farm workers in decades.” Solis herself had spoken out against the regulations while she was a member of the House of Representatives.
Labor Secretary Proposes Suspending Farm Rules (by Steven Greenhouse, New York Times)
Summary of AgJOBS Bill (by Bill Beardall, Equal Justice Center)
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