Month: September 2021

NCAE Announces New Opportunity to Vaccinate Farmworkers

| Uncategorized

September 9, 2021

For Immediate Release

Contact: Michael Marsh, President and CEO
(202) 629-9320

NCAE Announces New Opportunity to Vaccinate Farmworkers

(Washington, D.C.) The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) announced today that the Council’s ongoing collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has resulted in another new opportunity to protect farmworkers from COVID-19.

“Earlier this year, NCAE members participated with the CDC in a pilot project to test H-2A workers for COVID and quarantine any infected workers in Mexico prior to transiting to their temporary jobs in the States,” noted Michael Marsh, President and CEO. “This pilot project was successful in identifying not only a very low incidence of infection (1.3% based on preliminary data), but also an opportunity to collaborate to protect farmworker health and protect U.S. public health.”

Subsequently, the successful CDC/NCAE collaboration resulted in an opportunity to vaccinate farmworkers in San Diego County after entry for agricultural positions in the United States from Tijuana. This latest opportunity capitalizes upon those prior positive outcomes and expands it.
Marsh stated that, “NCAE is partnering with the CDC and the National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH) to help facilitate free COVID-19 vaccinations. This facilitation includes resources, training, and technical assistance to support COVID-19 mitigation strategies and vaccination efforts among agricultural workers.”
Agricultural employers interested in participating in this terrific opportunity should email NCAE’s Manager of Association Services Susan Lester at [email protected] or Matt Solberg, NCFH Partner Engagement Coordinator at [email protected] for details.

“The safety of essential farmworkers is of paramount importance to agricultural employers and NCAE is excited about this new opportunity to assist farm and ranch families in protecting the workers who feed and clothe us from the deadly COVID pandemic, while protecting public health at the same time,” said Marsh.
NCAE is the national trade association focusing on agricultural labor issues from the employer’s viewpoint.

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NCAE Files Inquiry with USDA

| Press Release

September 1, 2021

For Immediate Release

Contact: Michael Marsh, President and CEO
(202) 629-9320

NCAE Files Inquiry with USDA

(Washington, D.C.) The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) filed an inquiry yesterday with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).   The Council has asked for response to questions and concerns regarding the USDA’s Annual Farm Labor Survey (FLS).

The FLS is used by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to establish the mandatory minimum wages agricultural employers must pay to workers employed under the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker Visa program as well as any domestic workers employed in corresponding employment.  These mandatory minimum wages, referred to as the Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) in the DOL regulations, are intended to prevent an adverse effect on domestic workers due to the employment of temporary foreign H-2A workers.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.  The average AEWR required to be paid in the U.S. in 2021 under the H-2A program has been $14.62.

“Our members have become increasingly alarmed by the ever deepening disconnect from the market for agricultural labor and the results of the FLS used by the Department of Labor (DOL) to establish the AEWRs,” noted Michael Marsh NCAE President and CEO in the letter to Secretary Vilsack.  “Alarm over this disconnect has also been expressed by cooperative extension specialists, agricultural lenders, agricultural economists, and others with expertise in analysis of labor markets.”

The Council’s letter notes that the impact of this disconnect between the FLS results and U. S. labor markets is hindering U. S. agricultural production and creating new opportunities for foreign competitors to expand their displacement of U. S. produced agricultural products in the market.  Today over one-half of the fresh fruit and more than one-third of the fresh vegetables consumed in America are produced in another country.  This circumstance is making U. S. agriculture less sustainable in global markets and forcing U.S. families to be ever more reliant upon foreign producers for their food. The Council’s inquiry also points out that the forfeit of America’s food production capability to foreign competitors jeopardizes U. S. national security.

Marsh stated that, “NCAE has repeatedly petitioned the DOL to make the determination required by statute as to whether an adverse effect is visited upon domestic workers due to the employment of Temporary H-2A Agricultural Workers necessitating the imposition of AEWRs. The DOL has failed to entertain the petitioned for determination to the peril of U. S. agriculture.  Our inquiry seeks to find the reasons for this staggering disconnect so we can find a solution that allows American farmers and ranchers to again feed our nation.”

NCAE is the national trade association focusing on agricultural labor issues from the employer’s viewpoint.

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