to Bush’s Midnight Guest Worker Ruling
Washington, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) announced today the proposed suspension for nine months of the Bush Administration’s last-minute regulation changes to the nation’s H2A agricultural guest worker program. The changes made it easier for growers to slash the pay of domestic farm workers, reduce housing benefits and hire imported foreign laborers instead of U.S. field workers.
"We thank Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis for the pending suspension of the Bush H-2A regulations. These regulations represented one of the most significant steps backwards for farm workers in the past several decades. We look forward to reviewing the final notice in the Federal Register and welcome the opportunity to work with the Obama administration to ensure the rights of both foreign guest workers and domestic workers in agriculture are respected," said United Farm Workers President Arturo S. Rodriguez.
The changes to the H-2A temporary foreign agricultural worker program took effect on Saturday, January 17. The DOL said it plans to reverse those changes and reinstate the policies that were in effect until that time. It may take several weeks for the changes to take effect.
"This is a great relief for our nation’s farm workers. The Bush Administration’s rules were illegal. DOL is acting responsibly in announcing plans to revere them," said Bruce Goldstein, Executive Director of Farm Worker Justice. "However, many farm workers are being harmed now because the new regulations are in effect. The Department must act quickly and address the abuses being inflicted on farm workers at this moment."
The DOL will publish a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the Federal Register on Tuesday, announcing its intent to temporarily suspend the previous administration’s rules and revert to the previous. There is a ten-day public comment period on the proposal. It is unclear how long finalization will take."The UFW has worked diligently to overturn these regulations. We mobilized thousands of consumers nationwide calling on then Secretary of Labor Chao not to issue them. Today’s announcement is the first step in ensuring that the women and men who pick our food are treated fairly," Rodriguez said.