Rural Laws: July, 1998 - Number #16

The INS operation "Southern Denial" in mid-May 1998 apprehended 21 workers in Glennville in southeastern Georgia, home of the $90 million a year Vidalia onion industry. Several of the 215 onion growers applied for H-2A workers in 1997, but withdrew their applications after the Department of Labor insisted that they would have to offer at least the prevailing wage of $0.80 per 50-pound bag of onions harvested, while the growers insisted that $0.75 for a 60-pound bag was the prevailing wage. The AEWR, the wage that H-2A workers must earn at piecerate wages, is $6.30 per hour in 1998.

According to the growers, total labor costs are about $1.25 per bag, and the DOL rate would have added about $1 million to harvesting costs.

Growers also lost interest in the H-2A program when they learned that they would have to provide free housing for the 1,200 H-2A workers they were requesting, and to offer free housing to US workers. In 1997, one Georgia farmer obtained workers through the H-2A program; in 1998, 15 obtained workers. The Vidalia Onion Business Council said that "H-2A is not worth the trouble, the aggravation and the expense and the risk."

Vidalia onions are planted in the fall, grow their rings in the winter months, expand after March, and are harvested in May and June by workers following a tractor-pulled harrow that cuts the onions from the roots and loosens the ground. Workers pull the onions out of the ground, clip the stems and the roots, and then put them in 50-pound burlap bags, and are left in the fields to begin drying. Yields average 300 bags an acre. The onions are sorted in a packing shed, and either put into boxes or bags for sale.

The May 1998 raids were the first since 1995, when 178 unauthorized workers were detected. The 1995 raid reportedly did not decrease the hiring of illegal aliens because it occurred after the onions were harvested, but before some workers received final paychecks.

The 1998 raids produced letters from local Congressmen to the INS that complained of an "apparent lack of regard for farmers in this situation...[the raids] threaten one of Georgia's most famous and economically valuable crops, Vidalia onions." Senator Paul Coverdell (R-GA) complained of the INS' "indiscriminate and inappropriate use of extreme enforcement tactics against Vidalia area onion growers...[interfering with] honest farmers who are simply trying to get their products from the field to the marketplace."

Coverdell in June 1998 prevented the confirmation of three DOL officials to get DOL to agree that (1) farmers using H-2A workers could terminate the contract, and the guarantee of at least two-thirds of promised wages, if "market conditions" make harvesting unprofitable, (2) that employers could charge workers $25 a person for maintenance of on-site housing, and (3) not require employers to use FLCs to try to recruit US workers, even if FLCs are the prevailing practice in the area.

The 1998 raids are expected to lead to an agreement between the INS and farmers that all farmers will participate in the INS Verification Pilot Program, they will provide the INS with the names of their farm labor contractors and they will permit the INS free access to check I-9 forms in their offices.

In return, the INS promised not to launch surprise inspections. Several papers called this an "amnesty" for illegal workers during the 1998 season, since unauthorized workers currently employed are able to work for the 1998 season without fear of INS activities if their photocopied documents on file with the employer appear to be genuine. Farmers estimate that up to half of the onion workers may be unauthorized, but they claim that all workers provided what appeared to be genuine documents.

Farm worker advocates complained that two worker protection standards--the promise to provide adequate housing for migrant workers in the 1999 season, and growers assuming liability for any violations committed by FLCs--were deleted from the agreement between the INS and growers. Many newspapers editorialized against the agreement. A typical editorial asserted: "The Georgia case demonstrated that the INS bowed to employer pressure because the operation had hit right in the middle of the onion harvest when demand for cheap labor is highest."

Most of the workers are brought from Texas to southeastern Georgia by farm labor contractors. Many are housed in rundown mobile homes or motels; reporters found as many as 15 onion workers housed in one single-wide trailer. Nearby peach growers continue to provide housing to workers, including barracks purchased from the Warner-Robbins Air Force base.

One grower noted that migrant men were preferred to local workers: "The problems you have with American workers are endless...If we had a bunch of American workers, we'd have to hire someone like a personnel director to deal with all the problems. The people we have now, they come and they work. They don't have kids to pick up from school or to take to the doctor. They don't have child support issues. They don't ask to leave early for this and that. They don't call in sick. If you say to them, 'Today we need to work 10 hours,' they don't say anything."

All parties agreed that this was a temporary fix for the 1998 season. The head of the Vidalia Onion Council said that "the cure on this thing has got to come out of Washington." Growers are testing mechanical harvesters that are used in Texas and Europe; machines cost up to $100,000 each. One machine with five or six workers can harvest 15 acres a day; the equivalent of a crew of 60 workers.

An estimated 10,000 workers are employed in the 16,000-acre Vidalia onion harvest, including 1,200 workers who work on the 2,600 acres of onions planted by Delbert Bland, who produces 20 percent of the 3.5 million pounds of Vidalia onions. Bland uses 10 crew leaders to obtain workers, was sued by US Department of Labor in November 1994 for $1.6 million, and settled for $150,000. In 1995, Bland paid $40,000 to settle a suit by 15 migrants from Texas who alleged that a Bland crew leader promised them work and housing that did not materialize when they got to Georgia.

Bland is also experimenting with mechanical harvesting. A mechanical harvester used on several hundred acres on an experimental basis can top about 90 percent of the onions, so that one operator can replace a crew of 60 to 70.

A profile of schools in Toombs and Tattnall counties reported that both hired bilingual aides during the April-June influx of migrant workers. One 16-year old attends schools in Texas, Georgia and Minnesota each year, and carries her grades and records with her. Georgia provides funding based on student counts in October and March, so the state provides few extra funds for migrants. The federal Migrant Education program enrolled 3,500 migrant children in 1997-98.

South Carolina berry growers reported that they had too few migrant workers to harvest berries for one month. Mexicans began to move into the labor force in the mid-1990s; many are from Union de San Antonio, Mexico. Local growers say that local "kids really don't have that ability and focus it requires...to pick fast." A second grower says that local workers "want to start at 8 a.m. and they are out of here at 5 p.m. The seasonal (Mexican) workers try to make as much money as possible."

Another grower, describing Mexican workers, says "They stop in and see if we need anybody and if we're paying the right amount. Of course, you have to pay (at least) minimum wage. They go where the best wage is paid."

Marcus Stern, "A Semi-Tough Policy on Illegal Workers," Washington Post, July 5, 1998. Lori Henson, "Cleland promises to push for change on migrant labor laws," Savannah Morning News, June 28, 1998. R.W. Apple, "A Georgia onion as sweet as a peach," New York Times, June 10, 1998. "Cheap, Sweet Onions Have a High Social Cost," Fulton County Daily Report, June 2, 1998. Ginger Thompson, "Immigration clashes leave Vidalia onion farmers bitter," Chicago Tribune, May 28, 1998. Lori Henson, "Debate begins to fix migrant problems," Savannah Morning News, May 20, 1998.