Guest workers

Statement by President John Sweeney on DOL Announcing Intent to Strip Worker Protections From H-2A Guest Worker Program

February 07, 2008 -- The Department of Labor will hurt both immigrant and U.S.-born workers alike if it goes ahead with its plans to strip a number of workers’ rights from the H-2A agricultural guest worker program. The Bush Administration has shown once again that it will go to any extreme to cater to the interest of corporations at the painful expense of workers, and that it is not serious about real fixes to our nation’s broken immigration system.    » read more »

February 6, 2008 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced today a series of proposed rule modifications to provide employers with a streamlined hiring process for temporary and seasonal agricultural workers under the H-2A program.    » read more »

February 6, 2008 -- Employers in the United States have often faced a shortage of available domestic workers who are able, willing and qualified to fill seasonal agricultural jobs. The H-2A program was instituted to meet this need for seasonal and temporary labor, without adding permanent residents to the population.

The H-2A program is authorized by the Immigration and Nationality Act, (INA) sec. 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), which permits U.S. employers to bring temporary foreign workers into the United States to perform seasonal agricultural work.    » read more »