WASHINGTON, DC – At a Capitol Hill hearing today, Congressman Bill Delahunt once again urged legislators to support a reauthorization for the H-2B program, saying it was critical to small businesses and the New England tourism industry.

"The Congress needs to listen to the thousands of small businesses all throughout New England and on the Cape and Islands pleading for our help", said Delahunt.  "The failure to help employers meet their seasonal workforce needs will not only hurt the travel and tourism industry, but reduce wages for American workers and tax revenues for state and local governments."

Delahunt made the statement at a packed House Judiciary Subcommittee Oversight Hearing on the H-2B program held this afternoon in Washington DC.  The purpose of the hearing was to hear concerns about the H-2B program from both its supporters and critics. 

The H-2B program provides visas for seasonal workers in the lodging, restaurant, and tourism related industry. The program is capped at 66,000 visas and in recent years the Congress has authorized cap exemptions for returning workers. In Massachusetts, the tourism industry generates $13.1 billion for the economy of the Commonwealth and $833.3 million in state and local revenue. On Cape Cod and the Islands, it estimated that between 5,000 and 6,000 H-2B workers are needed to fill these needs. According to the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, it is projected that this year the region will receive only 15 H-2B workers.  

In order for a business to secure a visa, State labor officials must certify the lack of American workers for local positions.   The high cost of housing in many resort areas has made it difficult for communities to host an adequate local workforce, so employers are forced foreign workers who work for a brief period of time, then return to their country. 

In a joint letter to the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Committee, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Daniel O’Connell and Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne Bump said that “Across the country businesses that depend on H-2B workers are facing a severe shortage headed into the busy summer months. Each day the Congress fails to act adds to the tremendous uncertainty faced by our seasonal businesses. The economic impact of a further delay on these businesses and Massachusetts cannot be over-stated.”

At today's hearing, several witnesses discussed the importance of the program for local small businesses.

R. Daniel Musser III, President, Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, MI said: “Increasing opportunities for year-round hospitality workers and other factors have made it impossible to fill all of our positions with ready, willing, and able American workers. Without the H-2B seasonal temporary workers we employ to supplement our U.S. work force, we eventually would not be in business.”

Delahunt invited Bill Zammer, owner of Cape Cod Restaurants on Cape Cod Massachusetts to appear before the subcommittee and offer his assessment of the seasonal workforce crisis.  Zammer said: “H2-B workers are essential to the needs of seasonal employers across the country. If these programs are eliminated it will force some small businesses to close, laying off their full time American staff.”

Also during the hearing, Members of Congress also heard criticism of the H-2B program based on claims of unscrupulous employment practices. Mary Bauer of the Southern Poverty Law Center said that “H-2B workers are not treated like guests rather they are systematically exploited and abused. Unlike U.S. citizens, guest workers do not enjoy the most fundamental protection of a competitive labor market. Placing this much power in the hands of employers is a recipe for worker abuse.”   Delahunt has long-advocated for a transparent process in the protection of guest workers in the H-2B program.

To read Bill Zammer’s testimony, please click here.

To read the letter from Secretary O’Connell an Secretary Bump, please click here. 

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