Michigan Farm Bureau is urging its members to send messages to Congress, asking lawmakers to support a resolution against the Department of Labor’s disastrous new rules on how it will determine the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for certain positions within the H-2A program.
The rule neglects to account for the fact that farm worker job descriptions often include many different responsibilities — not just one role as the rule assumes.
If a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) is enacted, the AEWR final rule would be immediately reversed and treated as though the rule had never taken effect.
Send a prewritten or personalized message from https://bit.ly/MIFARMH2A or text ‘MIH2A’ to 52886.
Labor already accounts for nearly 40% of total production costs on some farms, according to AFBF. Michigan’s AEWR will rise 12.8% this year to $17.34 per hour.
“We need Congress to step in and help us find a long-term solution to address our workforce challenges or we’re going to be dependent on foreign countries to produce our food, which hurts farmers, local communities, and families who purchase food in grocery stores,” said John Kran, MFB National Legislative Counsel.
To learn more about the rule’s methodology and why farmers need to tell Congress to address this issue today, read the AFBF Market Intel report.
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