WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Vice Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today in a letter to Secretary of Labor (DOL) Tom Perez and Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Jeh Johnson called on the agencies to issue a rule for seafood businesses relying on seasonal workers here on H-2B visas that allows those businesses to pay their workers an appropriate local wage, rather than at a level mandated by broad categories that do not accurately reflect the wages of crab pickers in Maryland. Artificial wage calculations mandated at a federal level that are not tailored to the actual work being done in local job markets could have a disastrous impact on Maryland’s seafood industry and Eastern Shore jobs. Seasonal workers returning to the United States under H-2B visas are critical to ensuring Maryland’s seafood businesses have the labor force they need during peak harvest season. For every one H-2B visa granted, four American jobs are created.
“Prevailing Wage Surveys are a critical tool for businesses that are forced to rely on the H-2B program due to a routine shortage of available workers, yet lack an occupational classification specifically related to them,” Senator Mikulski wrote. “The Maryland seafood industry is a clear example of this problem where the job category of “seafood processor/picker” is considered under much broader categories that do not accurately reflect the wages of crab pickers in Maryland. The H-2B program is critical for small, seasonal businesses that rely on its continued availability and reliability to function. These businesses need a rule that allows them to function.”
Following the U.S. District Court of Florida’s Perez v Perez decision, DOL and DHS are required to issue a joint Interim Final Rule by April 30 to move ahead with the H-2B visa seasonal worker program. Senator Mikulski has asked that the rule mandate businesses pay their seasonal workforce here on H-2B visas at levels based on the state-approved Prevailing Wage Survey. The Prevailing Wage Survey calculates the worth of the actual work being done to local businesses. Paying a wage established through broad categories such as “seafood processor/picker” does not accurately reflect the wages of crab pickers in Maryland. These artificial wage calculations that are not tailored to the actual work being done have a disastrous impact on the industry and the fragile economies it supports.
4 comments:
This troll needs to go away.
Oh, so one minute the $15 minimum wage is a great idea for America's working class, but when it actually affects the liberals pushing it, they start looking for a loophole.
Kinda like Obamacare. Make everybody buy their own insurance, but when it's time to make your congressional staffers, unions and influential friends buy it, well.. we'd better give them exemptions.
Elitist hypocrisy.
have you ever seen the federal wage scales? Take a look at the Davis-Bacon wage scale. The problem with construction wage scale is that local companies cannot afford those wages so the companies from Baltimore get the jobs (since their workers make higher wages)those companies can absorb the cost but the smaller companies on the shore cannot. Its great for the economy when a local company gets the job, but most companies struggle to make the certified payroll. I can imagine that the seafood industry wages are way higher than what the locals can afford to pay. We are not in Baltimore.
The market would sort this out on it's own if left alone.
The problems come from interfering with that process.
Supply and demand strain to find balance and they will if you let them.
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