Issues
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Workforce Relief for seasonal and unseasonal labor needs Workforce relief for industries that rely on legal foreign temporary labor by using the H-2B nonimmigrant visa program The H-2B visa program allows 66,000 temporary foreign workers into the United States each year. These visas are allocated at the rate of 33,000 twice a year: October 1 and April 1. North Carolina is home to multiple small businesses that supplement their workforce under the H-2B visa program with temporary labor from nearby countries such as Mexico and Jamaica because efforts to hire local help through the Employment Security Commission’s job bank have failed to meet their need for a reliable local workforce. Owners and operators of businesses such as local plant nurseries that supply the gardening centers for the spring and summer planting season have been able to stay in business with the help of a few reliable foreign workers. Resorts such as Pinehurst and the Biltmore supplement their local workforce with temporary foreign workers so that they can maintain the high quality standards vacationers expect. While not located within the Sixth Congressional District that I represent, coastal commercial fisheries cannot find local employees who are willing to “pick” crabs for canning and distribution to such places as restaurants and supermarkets. They rely on foreign workers to do the work that keeps these small businesses viable. Small businesses such as these are owned and operated by hard working Americans who struggle to meet the needs of their families, too. They remind us of the many other businesses, box and pallet makers for example, that thrive when their businesses survive. Some have difficulty understanding why these small businesses could need foreign workers at a time when many jobless North Carolinians need work. The clarification is rooted in our unemployment policies and the general expectations of individuals who had earned a fairly good salary in their former employment. American workers are reluctant to accept the starting salaries paid to foreign workers who perform “unskilled” labor. Consider also that older workers who are unemployed have health problems that prevent participation in work that is so physically demanding. While these industries employ younger workers, many young people are uninterested in work that is seasonal or temporary. In my opinion, when these foreign workers comply with the terms of their visas, which require workers to depart the United States each year, they should be allowed to return the following season to the same employer without counting toward the 66,000 annual cap. To do otherwise, jeopardizes the viability of the small business employers who need them. |