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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: yard_man who wrote (4054)	4/10/2004 12:02:47 PM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116555

A Shortage of Seasonal Workers Is Feared By EDUARDO PORTER Published: April 10, 2004 ven as economists worry about the lackluster growth in employment, and politicians rail against the loss of jobs to overseas outsourcing, many employers across the country are sounding alarms about an impending shortage of foreign temporary workers this summer. From roe processors in Alaska to innkeepers in Martha's Vineyard to landscaping contractors in Arkansas, businesses are beseeching Congress to raise the ceiling on the number of visas for seasonal workers. With this year's limit of 66,000 already reached, the employers are pressing for an immediate increase. Otherwise, many of the companies say, their businesses will be in jeopardy - and so will the jobs of many Americans who also work for those businesses. "Six hundred to 700 American jobs are at stake if I can't get the six foreign technicians that I need," said Larry Nelson, the president of Great Northern Sea Products. The company employs Japanese specialists during the summer at processing plants in Alaska to grade and sort salmon roe for sale in Japan. Employers began writing panicked letters to members of Congress last month after the Department of Homeland Security clamped off this year's program of H-2B temporary visas for foreign workers, announcing it had reached the 66,000 limit, six months before the end of the fiscal year of 2004. It is the first time since the H-2B visa program began 14 years ago that the annual limit has been reached, and the reasons are disputed. Employers and their Congressional supporters say that Americans often do not want the temporary positions, which provide no benefits and typically last for only a few months. Those in the opposite camp say that the employers simply want cheaper foreign workers and could get local applicants if they simply paid more. In any case, companies say that unless the limit is lifted soon, it will be too late to help them meet summer demand for camp counselors, bellhops, casino workers, shellfish shuckers and similar positions. At least three bills have been introduced in Congress in recent weeks to relax the H-2B restrictions. But some members of the House and Senate are strongly opposing such measures. And even supporters have found it hard to push for hiring even temporary foreign workers in the face of a labor market that remains dismal - despite the surprisingly strong March jobs data released last week. Under the H-2B system, before bringing in foreign workers, businesses must demonstrate that they tried to hire local people, for instance by putting ads in newspapers. Once the Department of Labor agrees that an employer has a legitimate need to look abroad, the company must still submit a request to the Department of Homeland Security. Only after approval at that stage can a worker apply for visa at a United States consulate or an embassy overseas. Even if Homeland Security puts a case on a fast track - which costs businesses $1,000 an application - the procedure takes about 90 days. Businesses are not allowed to apply for foreign workers until 120 days before they will need them. Many summer employers found that by the time they could start this year's process, many of the visas had already gone to ski instructors, hockey players and other winter workers. Those left in the lurch included North Carolina crab processors, Virginia hoteliers and helicopter operators working for fire departments across the West. Groups conducting letter-writing campaigns to Congress have included the Associated Landscape Contractors of America, whose members dispatched form letters arguing that without the foreign labor, "we will not have the workers needed to complete landscaping contacts this spring, summer and fall." William Hunt, the president of National Filter Service, a maker of heating and air-conditioning filters in Fork Union, Va., sent a letter to Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, who has been a leading opponent of lifting the visa limit. "Pulling the rug from under us now,'' Mr. Hunt wrote, "will severely and possibly mortally impact our company, our customers and our employees." nytimes.com