Agreement reached on farm worker immigration bill
April 12, 2013 | 06:15 PM
Senators working on the farm worker section of a comprehensive immigration reform bill, the Agriculture Workforce Coalition representing growers, and the United Farm Workers reached agreement on a farm worker immigration bill late today.
Tom Nassif
Tom Nassif, CEO of Western Growers, whose members ship one third of the fruits and vegetables in the country, said “The agreement the Ag Workforce Coalition was able negotiate with the UFW is a crucial step in solving our immigration crisis and securing a stable and legal workforce in the years to come.”
“Over the past year the agriculture community was able to come together in a historically broad coalition,” Nassif said. “The force of agricultural producers and worker representatives coming together on a framework will play a significant role in achieving immigration reform this year.”
Maria Machuca, communications director of the United Farm Workers confirmed that agreement had been reached.
The four senators working on the agriculture section of the bill have been Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Sen. Michael Bennett, D-Colo., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
Rubio is a member of the gang of eight senators who are expected to announce an overall immigration reform package on Tuesday.
The Agriculture Workforce Coalition said in a statement that its members are “committed to including an agricultural guest worker program and supporting the general framework negotiated in any final immigration reform package.”
“For many farmers across the country, finding a sufficient number of workers to harvest crops or care for animals is the biggest challenge they face in running their businesses,” the coalition said.
“There is a shortage of U.S. workers willing and able to perform farm work. Securing a reliable and competent workforce for our nation’s farms and ranches is essential to ensuring that American consumers continue to enjoy abundant and affordable food on their grocery store shelves.”
Details of the package were not released, but on Monday representatives of the growers and the workers told the North American Agricultural Journalists about their priorities.
Craig Regelbrugge
Craig Regelbrugge, a member of the Agriculture Workforce Coalition, said that growers were concerned that if wages were too high their industry would not be competitive with imports and that Rubio had to make sure the agreement would help Florida’s citrus, strawberry and tomato industries.
Regelbrugge noted that Florida growers are under increasing competition from Mexican imports. But he also said that Rubio had told the agriculture group, “You don’t want to be the last unresolved issue. Then you get something less thoughtful.”
Diana Tellefson Torres
At the same event, Diana Tellefson Torres, the national vice president of the United Farm Workers, said that the union was determined that the agreement would provide decent wages for the farm workers.
“We want to make sure farm workers are making what they are making today, not less,” Torres said.
Tom Nassif, CEO of Western Growers, whose members ship one third of the fruits and vegetables in the country, said “The agreement the Ag Workforce Coalition was able negotiate with the UFW is a crucial step in solving our immigration crisis and securing a stable and legal workforce in the years to come.”
“Over the past year the agriculture community was able to come together in a historically broad coalition,” Nassif said. “The force of agricultural producers and worker representatives coming together on a framework will play a significant role in achieving immigration reform this year.”
Maria Machuca, communications director of the United Farm Workers confirmed that agreement had been reached.
The four senators working on the agriculture section of the bill have been Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Sen. Michael Bennett, D-Colo., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
Rubio is a member of the gang of eight senators who are expected to announce an overall immigration reform package on Tuesday.
The Agriculture Workforce Coalition said in a statement that its members are “committed to including an agricultural guest worker program and supporting the general framework negotiated in any final immigration reform package.”
“For many farmers across the country, finding a sufficient number of workers to harvest crops or care for animals is the biggest challenge they face in running their businesses,” the coalition said.
“There is a shortage of U.S. workers willing and able to perform farm work. Securing a reliable and competent workforce for our nation’s farms and ranches is essential to ensuring that American consumers continue to enjoy abundant and affordable food on their grocery store shelves.”
Details of the package were not released, but on Monday representatives of the growers and the workers told the North American Agricultural Journalists about their priorities.
Craig Regelbrugge, a member of the Agriculture Workforce Coalition, said that growers were concerned that if wages were too high their industry would not be competitive with imports and that Rubio had to make sure the agreement would help Florida’s citrus, strawberry and tomato industries.
Regelbrugge noted that Florida growers are under increasing competition from Mexican imports. But he also said that Rubio had told the agriculture group, “You don’t want to be the last unresolved issue. Then you get something less thoughtful.”
At the same event, Diana Tellefson Torres, the national vice president of the United Farm Workers, said that the union was determined that the agreement would provide decent wages for the farm workers.
“We want to make sure farm workers are making what they are making today, not less,” Torres said.
