Keywords
migrant labor
H-2A Temporary Guest Worker Program
Categories
How to Cite
Abstract
Labor is a critical component of a successful agricultural venture. In 2020, the USDA reported that 10.3% of total US employment was in jobs in the agricultural and food sectors. We rely on food, fiber, and natural resources, and effective agricultural labor is a critical social need, but the challenges inherent in the effort to secure agricultural labor are many and difficult to solve. Particularly in Florida, maintaining a labor sufficient to meet the needs of the industry presents a complex problem. Controversies abound over issues like human rights and migrant vs. domestic labor. Today the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers Program is providing some compromise and progress within the agricultural labor crisis. The purpose of this publication is to review agricultural labor in Florida and analyze how the H-2A program addresses agricultural labor challenges. The publication will be of interest to consumers, labor activists, producers, corporations, and governments.
References
American Public Health Association. 2005. “Occupational health and safety protections for immigrant workers.” Policy Statement. Accessed December 14:2005.
Anon. 2021. “H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers | USCIS.” United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Available at: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2a-temporary-agricultural-workers [Accessed August 20, 2022].
Castillo, M., and S. Simnitt. 2022. “USDA ERS - Farm Labor.” United States Department of Agriculture - Economic Research Service. Available at: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor/ [Accessed August 20, 2022].
Divate, N. 2022. “Florida Agriculture Overview and Statistics - Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.” Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Available at: https://www.fdacs.gov/Agriculture-Industry/Florida-Agriculture-Overview-and-Statistics [Accessed August 20, 2022].
Editors, H. com. 2020. “Labor Movement.” HISTORY. Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/labor [Accessed August 20, 2022].
Kassel, K., and A. Martin. 2022. “USDA ERS - Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy.” United States Department of Agriculture - Economic Research Service. Available at: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/ag-and-food-sectors-and-the-economy/ [Accessed August 20, 2022].
Lovejoy, S. 1991. “The Desirability of Farming as a Vocation - Purdue Agricultural Economics Report.” Center for Commercial Agriculture. Available at: https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/home/paer-article/the-desirability-of-farming-as-a-vocation/ [Accessed August 20, 2022].
Nepal, S. 2021. “Primer: Evolution of the H-2A Visa Program | Bipartisan Policy Center.” Bipartisan Policy Center. Available at: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/primer-h2a-visa/ [Accessed August 20, 2022].
Newman, E. 2022. “No Way to Treat a Guest: Why the H-2A Agricultural Visa Program Fails U.S. and Foreign Workers.” Farmworker Justice. Available at: https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/resource/no-way-to-treat-a-guest-why-the-h-2a-agricultural-visa-program-fails-u-s-and-foreign-workers/ [Accessed August 20, 2022].
Thurber, M. 2020. “Research Guides: A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States: 1942: Bracero Program.” Available at: https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/bracero-program [Accessed March 3, 2023].
Trujillo, D. 2021. “Florida’s minimum wage increases to $10.” ABC Action News - Tampa Bay. Available at: https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/floridas-minimum-wage-increases-to-10-on-thursday [Accessed August 20, 2022].
US Department of Labor. 2023. “H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) | Flag.dol.gov.” Available at: https://flag.dol.gov/wage-data/adverse-effect-wage-rates [Accessed July 20, 2023].
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2024 UF/IFAS