November 7, 2024
The Honorable Gary Peters
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Peters:
We are writing to express our deep concern over the negative impacts the current federal wage policy that establishes wage rates for the U.S. Department of Labor’s temporary, seasonal guestworker program are having on Michigan growers. This program is used by many fruit and vegetable farms across Michigan to plant, cultivate and harvest their crops when domestic workers are not available. If something is not done to address this issue soon, we will lose a significant portion of our nearly $6 billion industry that supports approximately 40,000 jobs.
The Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) is the federally mandated wage rate set each year by the U.S. Department of Labor that must be paid by farms that utilize the federal agricultural guestworker program. This year, Michigan’s AEWR is $18.50 per hour, nearly 80% higher than the state minimum wage. And this doesn’t include other mandatory costs like transportation, free housing and government fees paid for by growers making the all-in wage closer to $30 per hour. Michigan’s AEWR has increased 60% over the past decade and increases every year. This is simply unsustainable for Michigan growers to continue growing nutritious fruits and vegetables for Michigan consumers and others across the country.
Michigan lost 16,000 acres of fruits and vegetables between 2012 and 2022 and USDA data indicate the state lost another 5000 acres in 2023. We have heard from growers across the state that they are not replanting perennial crops like apples, tart cherries, blueberries and asparagus. This land is being used for other less profitable crops or is being sold for non-agricultural uses. Some growers are also pulling back on production of annual crops like snap beans and cucumbers. The current federal policy that establishes the ever-increasing AEWR is making Michigan uncompetitive and shrinking our farm businesses which has ripple effects across the food and agriculture value chain and in our rural communities.
This policy also impacts Michigan consumers. There will be less Michigan grown produce in our grocery stores and we will be more reliant on imports from countries without the food safety and environmental protection rules consumers expect from the produce they buy. More imports also lead to rising prices and threatens our long-term food security.
It has been 38 years since Congress last addressed this issue. Encouragingly, in recent months, there has been a chorus of bipartisan calls for action, and in July, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved the Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations measure with critical provisions that would pause the AEWR through the end of 2025, providing much needed relief to Michigan farmers.
We respectfully request that you work closely with the Michigan delegation and your colleagues in congress to address the escalating wage rate, and prevent the catastrophic collapse of our fruit and vegetable industry.
Sincerely,
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