Make plans to attend the March 17 PAC Fundraiser in Asheville. See the details in the invitation below and use the registration form to attend or donate to the PAC!

ASHEVILLE PAC INVITATION

ASHEVILLE PAC REGISTRATION FORM

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February 12, 2010

New Guest-Worker Rules Seek to Increase Wages
By JULIA PRESTON

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced new rules on Thursday for the temporary immigrant farm workers program, saying they would raise wages and strengthen labor protections for foreign and American workers.
Under the new rules, growers will no longer be able to attest that they tried to find American workers to fill jobs given to migrants, but will have to prove they conducted job searches. The Labor Department will establish a national electronic registry of farm jobs to assist the effort.
American farm worker organizations hailed the changes, but growers’ groups said they would be costly and could be prohibitively cumbersome for many farmers, particularly smaller producers.
Growers “are just beside themselves that these rules keep changing; it just makes it impossible,” said Craig Regelbrugge, a spokesman for the American Nursery and Landscape Association.

Many of the new measures restore previous procedures for the program, known as H-2A for the type of visa that foreign workers receive, after the rules were changed in the last days of the Bush administration. Farm worker organizations strongly objected to those changes, arguing they had rapidly lowered wages for American agricultural laborers.
Labor officials said Thursday that the method of calculating wages for temporary foreign workers introduced by the Bush administration had reduced farm workers’ wages by an average of a dollar an hour in the year they were in effect. The new rules, which take effect on March 15, revert to the prior method for setting wages.
“The major change is that we are asking employers to prioritize those American workers that might be available,” Ms. Solis said. “And we are trying to make it realistic in terms of wages that can be earned by the farm workers that are currently out in the fields.”
The rules restore the role of state workforce agencies in carrying out inspections of farms seeking temporary foreign workers, including mandatory inspection of the housing that employers are required to provide.
“We are very grateful to Secretary Solis for her willingness to spend the time and resources to ensure that the most vulnerable workers are protected,” said Bruce Goldstein, executive director of Farmworker Justice, an advocacy group in Washington.
In California, growers said that new restrictions on the jobs guest workers in the program could perform were too inflexible for the rapidly changing conditions of agriculture. “I am not optimistic that any significant numbers of growers are going to be able to use this program,” said Bryan Little, Director of Labor Affairs for the California Farm Bureau Federation.
The new rules require growers to provide contracts to foreign guest workers before they leave their home countries, to protect against abuse by recruiters.

While the Department of Homeland Security runs the program, the Labor Department approves growers’ requests for foreign workers. In 2009, labor officials said, the department approved 94 percent of the applications growers submitted for H-2A workers, bringing 86,014 foreign migrants to the United States.
The program supplies only a fraction of the about one million farm workers in the United States. At least half of those workers are illegal immigrants, labor officials have estimated, with many farm employers hiring those immigrants instead of dealing with the slow-moving guest worker process.
While sharply divided over the new rules, growers and farm workers agreed that the Obama administration should press Congress to pass legislation overhauling the immigration system. Most versions of that legislation include a bill that creates a new guest worker program that all sides in agriculture have long supported.

To find our more information on HB 1408 - NC Contractor’s License Bill, visit this site: http://www.nclandscapecontractorslicense.com/index.html

You can also find this link under “Industry Resources” and “Inside the GIC” on our home page.

Greensboro PAC Invitation

On October 20, the GIC participated in the NC American Water Works Association, Water Conservation Conference in Concord, NC. The purpose of the conference was to highlight resources available for development or expansion of water conservation programs and case studies. The GIC continues to bring the message to water professionals that we are partners with them in water conservation and efficiency efforts.

Presentations focused on the basics of water conservation, lessons learned by water utilities in NC, and tools and expertise available from state and/or federal resource agencies.  The GIC exhibited two tabletop displays with “Water Wise Works” and “Watering Tips Guide” water efficiency brochures available to those attending. In adddition, we had GIC tote bags to hand out filled with green industry items and information. The Green Industry Council also sponsored Bruce Adams with EMC Engineers and a GIC water consultant, as one of the  main speakers at the conference. He made presentations on “Water Conservation 101″ and “Water Use for Irrigation: Conservation in the Green Industry”.

Representing the GIC at the conference were executive board members Daniel Currin, Buddy Murrow, Mark Peters and Doug Chapman, along with NC State Extension Specialist Dr. Barb Fair.

“The first town hall meeting to discuss the details of the proposed landscape contractor license legislation was held at the NCNLA Summer Green Show in Greensboro with nearly 70 people in attendance. Following that meeting a webcast was held on October 6th to have comments and discussion with cooperative extension agents across the state. Dr. Barbara Fair anchored the webcast with GIC, NCNLA and NCLCRB board members participating. Participating on site in addition to Dr. Fair were Dr. Tom Monaco, Mark Peters, Daniel Currin, Doug Chapman, Mark Clark, Ross Williams and Scott Makey. The next town hall meeting will be held at the Green & Growin Show in January followed by regional town hall meetings across the state during January, February and March. Your comments and concerns are important as we work toward crafting this important legislation for the landscape industry. Questions or comments please contact GIC Legislative Committee Co-Chair Mark Peters 336-669-2399.” 

The Horticulture Dept.hosted the 2009 Horticultural Science Outstanding Alumnus Award Reception to honor Mark Peters - class of 1979 with a BS degree and an emphasis on ornamentals and nursery production.
The reception was Friday, October 9th at 3:00 pm in 121 Kilgore Hall (Conference Room). Friends from the green industry and NC State attended the reception to celebrate Mark Peters’ many accomplishments as an outstanding alumnus of the Department.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS 

The City of Durham will open sealed bids for one project submitted by pre-qualified bidders on Tuesday, October 28, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. This project is: 

Contract ER-5100 EA (informal bid) The bid openings in Conference Room 136, Department of General Services, First Floor, 101 2011 Fay St., Durham, North Carolina.  This project will be financed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

ER-5100 EA involves grinding 29 stumps and plating 107 new trees on portions of North Duke Street and North Gregson Street in the City of Durham. Bidders are strongly encouraged to attend the pre-bid conference on Tuesday, October 14, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. in Conference Room 136, Department of General Services, First Floor, 101 2011 Fay St., Durham, North Carolina. All contractors bidding on the project must be pre-qualified by the NC Department of Transportation as a “pre-qualified bidder” in order to be considered for contract AWARD.  All subcontractors must be pre-qualified by NCDOT as a subcontractor.  To find contractors pre-qualified by NCDOT, go to https://apps.dot.state.nc.us/vendor/directory/default.aspx#0 

In addition, all prime contractors must have a Dun and Bradstreet D-U-N-S Number in order for ARRA reporting to be accurate http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform 

The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goals for this project is 0% 

Subcontractors must be certified by NCDOT as a DBE in order for their participation to count towards the goal.  To find DBEs certified by NCDOT, go to:

https://apps.dot.state.nc.us/vendor/directory/default.aspx#0

 The specifications may be viewed and downloaded from the City of Durham’s Web Site at the: http://www.ci.durham.nc.us/departments/works/construction_projects.cfm. 

This project can also be viewed and downloaded from the State of North Carolina’s Purchasing website at:

https://www.ips.state.nc.us/ips/

 The City Council of the City of Durham reserves the right to reject any or all bids. All bids must include a non-collusion affidavit.   

 IMPORTANT BID DOWN LOAD NOTICE  To ensure that all bidders using the City’s Web Site are kept up to date on any addendums, changes, or informational notices; please send an e-mail to byron.brady@durhamnc.gov indicating which bid was downloaded.  Failure to complete this important step may render your bid as non-responsive. 

DHS Issues Final Rule Rescinding
Controversial ‘No-Match’ Regulation

Posted October 6, 2009, 1:01 P.M. ET The Department of Homeland Security is rescinding its controversial “no-match” regulation targeting employers with undocumented workers, according to a final rule slated for publication in the Oct. 7 Federal Register. Under the no-match rule—also called the safe harbor rule—the Social Security Administration would have been required to include with no-match letters, sent to employers when employees’ Social Security numbers do not match government records, information telling the employers that they would be required to resolve discrepancies or face liability. The Bush administration originally issued the no-match rule in 2007, but it was challenged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, which blocked it before it had gone into effect. Reflecting the change in presidential administrations, DHS announced its intention to rescind the rule in July 2009. DHS issued a proposed rule rescinding the no-match regulation Aug. 19, and in the final rule said it intended to adopt the proposed rule without changes. “After further review, DHS has determined to focus its enforcement efforts relating to the employment of aliens not authorized to work in the United States on increased compliance through improved verification, including participation in E-Verify, ICE Mutual Agreement Between Government and Employers (IMAGE), and other programs,” the department said.