19-050

Contacts:
Dan Zeitlin, Employment System Policy director, 360-890-3467
Katie Pope, communications manager, 360-742-4514

Committee to play key role in supporting agricultural workers and employers

OLYMPIA - The Employment Security Department (ESD) today announced the inaugural members of the Agricultural and Seasonal Workforce Services Advisory Committee with members representing agricultural workers and employers tasked with examining issues critical to Washington’s over $10 billion agriculture economy. The first meeting will be held Monday, Aug. 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at ESD headquarters in Olympia, Washington.

The advisory committee was established as part of legislation signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on May 21, 2019. The legislation creates an Office of Agricultural and Seasonal Workforce Services within ESD to carry out the agency’s oversight and outreach responsibilities as they pertain to the H-2A program. The program allows employers to hire non-immigrant foreign workers to fill temporary agriculture jobs on an H-2A visa when there is a proven shortage of domestic workers for those jobs.

The advisory committee will provide valuable input and guidance to the newly created office as it works to fulfill its mission. The committee will submit a report to the Governor and Legislature in October 2020, providing recommendations on the recruitment and hiring of domestic agricultural workers in Washington. It will also provide an analysis of the required costs and available funds for ESD to manage the H-2A and other programs that support farmworkers.

“Washington state has been recognized as the top state for doing business and the best state in which to work. Our goal with this effort is to ensure that applies, not just overall, but in the agricultural industry in particular. We want people to know that when they purchase Washington grown products, they are buying products from a state with the best conditions for both agricultural employers and farmworkers,” said ESD Commissioner Suzi LeVine. “I so appreciate the agricultural workers, employers and state agencies who are coming together to contribute to this goal by serving on this vital committee!”

Membership The advisory committee is made up of eight voting members, four representing agricultural worker interests, one of whom is a farmworker; and four representing agricultural employers, one of whom is an employer. The committee is chaired by an ESD representative who serves as a non-voting member. It also includes non-voting members representing the departments of Agriculture, Health, and Labor and Industries. The advisory committee voting members are:

Representing agricultural workers

• Michele Besso, Northwest Justice Project attorney
• Rosalinda Guillen, Community to Community executive director
• Erik Nicholson, United Farm Workers vice president
• Ramon Torres (farmworker), Familias Unidas por la Justicia president

Representing agricultural employers

• Jon DeVaney, Washington State Tree Fruit Association president
• Mike Gempler, Washington Growers League executive director
• Rosella Mosby (employer), Mosby Farms, owner operator
• Delia Pena, Zirkle Fruit Company, director of orchard HR and H-2A

Advisory committee meetings are open to all interested parties and are a matter of public record.

For more information, please visit the advisory committee website.

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