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Key Findings

1. HB 1398 and SB 5438 would make farmers pay a state fee for participating in a federal program. 
2. The H-2A program provides legal means of employment for migrant workers, giving them the dignity of earning a good living for their families.
3. The H-2A program is a federal program and any budgetary shortfall on a state-level should be addressed through a federal budget increase request. The federal H-2A program is already a costly and time-consuming solution to a worker shortage. By adding a state fee to the application process, legislators are pricing agricultural employers out of legal work visas for migrants.
4. HB 1398 and SB 5438 could limit the ability of agricultural employers to hire enough legal workers to raise and harvest their crops.

Introduction

HB 1398, and its companion bill SB 5438, would make it harder for farmers in Washington state to hire legal, seasonal workers to harvest food crops, support their community, and provide much-needed income for migrant families.

The federal H-2A visa program was established in 1986. It provides a means by which U.S. employers can hire foreign nationals to fill temporary agricultural jobs. Before being approved to hire H-2A workers, employers must show there is a shortage of U.S. workers available to fill the vacant positions.

The success of the H-2A worker program

Migrant workers use the H-2A visa program to find legal employment to support their families. In 2018, Washington state employers hired 24,658 workers through the program, an increase of 1,000 percent since 2007. The successful program is effective, sustainable, and popular with workers.

The program enhances dignity and respect for workers, because the program brings migrants “out of the shadows” to participate in the legal economy. Washington’s H-2A workers make more than $15.00 an hour, the highest rate under the program in the country.

The American Farm Bureau Federation notes, “where American workers are unwilling or unavailable, workers from other countries have provided crucial support to American agriculture.” H-2A workers fill the void left by U.S. workers and provide a necessary backstop for employers in Washington state and around the country, while also earning a good living.

In addition to earning a good wage, H-2A workers are provided housing, transportation, and free medical care. The H-2A program is successful public policy because it is based on trust, mutual respect, and personal relationships. Employers know that, regardless of where workers are from, domestic or migrant, all employees must be treated equally.

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