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This past week our H-2B visa seasonal workers arrived, were oriented and we are now staffed up for spring. The Portland operations have used the H-2B Visa Program for 15 years to staff their seasonal labor force with stable, documented, motivated workers.
In today's immigration debate environment, programs such as H-2B are subject to criticism and are at risk of being lost. Some say it takes away opportunity for American workers or suppresses wages, but with our local unemployment rate at 2.5% and the required H-2B Wage $21.55/hour, neither is true. As a part of the application process, employers must prove the inability to attract local workers at that prevailing wage. This year, those recruiting efforts produced less than five local candidates for the 100 visas we applied for.
We are a strong advocate of the H-2B Visa Program as a vital resource for seasonal businesses like ours to staff documented, motivated workers to support our year-round staff. Even though this program may be controversial, we use and support the program and hope to retain it and expand it. Hundreds of labor and business organizations including the National Association of Landscape Professionals, Oregon Landscape Contractors Association, and The US Chamber of Commerce support the program through the H-2B Workforce Coalition. Be assured that you are well served by our use of the H-2B Visa Program.
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