Is the Abandonment of Guest Worker COVID Protections a Taste of Things to Come?
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act would likely lead to enormous increases in the number of workers brought to the U.S. by growers.
David Bacon
Dorian Lopez, an H-2A guest worker from Mexico, lives in barracks in central Washington built to house contract workers brought to the U.S. by growers under the H-2A visa program.
 is co-publishing this article.
Growers are just beginning to bring this yearâs wave of contracted laborers into Washington state for the coming season to pick apples, cherries and other fruit. The laborers are arriving to just-relaxed COVID-19 health and safety requirements for farmworkers, courtesy of a Superior Court judge in Yakima County, the heart of the stateâs apple country.
Ag Workforce Vaccination Push Pt 3
Thursday Apr 8th, 2021 With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. A year into the pandemic, the ag workforce is now eligible for vaccinations, and employers are wasting little time preparing for the arrival of seasonal workers.
Bottom line, Jon DeVaney, President of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, says we’re better prepared this year …
DeVANEY … “We can verify people who may have been exposed, whether they have contracted it through having enough testing resources. But, really, once you’ve been vaccinated you should be in really good shape for not transmitting or contracting the virus.”
Ag Workforce Vaccination Push Pt 2
Wednesday Apr 7th, 2021 With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. If you hadn’t noticed, it’s spring time here in the Pacific Northwest, and with harvest time fast approaching, farm employers are working quickly to prepare for vaccinating the ag workforce.
Washington State Tree Fruit Association President, Jon DeVaney says it’s taken a full year to get to this point, but the time has come …
DeVANEY … “We joined a number of other agricultural groups in communicating to the Governor our desire to see the ag workforce prioritized as soon as possible, as soon as supplies were available. So, we’re pleased to now have date-certain and our ag workers are now eligible for vaccination.”
Ag Workforce Vaccination Push Pt 1
Tuesday Apr 6th, 2021 With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. A year into the pandemic, and as harvest season quickly approaches, the agriculture community seems confident it’s more adequately prepared to protect and maintain the health of farm workers.
Jon DeVaney, President of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, believes vaccinations are now a priority for everyone …
DeVANEY … “There has been a lot of concern around the agricultural workforce because we know that when the pandemic began they were folks that could not telework, you know, you need to be on site, you need to be working together with your colleagues to get harvest done and to get food packed and processed. And that sometimes requires being in proximity.”
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