Login

USERNAME
PASSWORD

Become a Registered Guest Login Help Lost Password?

Contact: Vicki Bendure 
               (540) 687-3360 or
               Lisa Schaumann
               (540) 687-5099

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROFESSIONAL LANDCARE NETWORK’S H-2B FLY-IN A SUCCESS
— Members Make an Impact on Capitol Hill —

HERNDON, Va., March 24, 2006 — The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) held a
fly-in on Capitol Hill on March 15, 2006, to educate PLANET members on the current status of H-2B and the immigration bill and, in turn, to have PLANET members meet with their congressmen and communicate the organization’s position. Approximately 100 small business representatives gathered for a briefing and met with their congressional leaders.

Last year, Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) introduced legislation to enact a three-year extension for a crucial provision in her “Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act,” which was signed into law by President Bush in May of 2005. The companion bill was introduced at the same time in the U.S. House by Congressman Charles Bass (R-N.H.).

PLANET representatives have worked closely with Mikulski and Bass. The “Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act” made significant changes to the federal H-2B visa program that resulted in saving thousands of small businesses around the country. Among the changes, it exempted returning seasonal workers from counting against the national cap of 66,000 people, created new anti-fraud provisions, and ensured a fair allocation of H-2B visas among spring and summer employees. The cap exemption, which provided significant relief to the landscape industry, is set to expire on September 30, 2006. This cap is typically met within the first months of the fiscal year and causes employee limitations for many small businesses, including landscape companies. In the past, the cap has been reached by January, leaving many landscape businesses without the workers they need for their crucial spring season.

Small businesses are now working together with the hope that Congress will pass the proposed immigration bill, which provides for enough H-2B guest workers to meet demands. The bill is drawing heated debate as it includes tough crack-downs on illegal immigrants and border crossings. PLANET members are on the Hill to explain to members of Congress that they desperately need H-2B guest workers to fill positions that Americans will not take. “The H-2B guest-worker program actually saves American jobs by keeping many companies alive,” explains Tom Delaney, PLANET’s director of government affairs. Delaney also explains that there are stringent rules on advertising these jobs to Americans, and companies must work diligently to try to fill these positions with American workers before they are opened up to guest workers.

The H-2B visa program was created under the U.S. Department of Labor to allow guest workers to temporarily work in the U.S. to fill nonagricultural jobs in which U.S. workers are in short supply. H-2B allows hiring foreign workers, with valid visas, for up to ten months within the USCIS fiscal year (October through September).

It’s not just the landscape industry that is impacted by H-2B guest workers. The hospitality and tourism industries also rely heavily on H-2B workers as does the restaurant industry, the cannery and seafood processing industries, pool management companies, country clubs, and the horse training and breeding industry, among others. Forty-one different sector entities have participated in meetings on Capitol Hill.

Guest workers who have used the program have proven that they will return home after their seasonal work in the U.S. is complete, eliminating the argument that increasing the number of H-2B workers will increase the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. In fact, the opposite is true. The H-2B program provides a means by which employers can legally access workers they vitally need. The lack of workers may lead to increased use of illegal workers because no Americans can be found to do these jobs.

PLANET, working in tandem with other industries impacted by H-2B legislative reform, will be a key component in gaining extension of the program; particularly, since this program provides employment relief for one of the fastest growing industries in the nation — the lawn and landscape industry.

Several PLANET members participating in the fly-in reported that their meetings were a success and that their local congressional leaders had agreed to take a serious look at the H-2B guest-worker provisions in the immigration bill.


PLANET represents approximately 4,400 green-industry service provider companies and suppliers nationwide that specialize in design/build/installation, interior plantscaping, landscape management, and lawn care. These firms and their employees represent more than 100,000 green-industry professionals. For more information, contact Tom Delaney at (800) 395-2522 or visit landcarenetwork.org.