Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters.
Although efforts to reach an agreement on federal legislation to address the growing farm labor crisis have not yet succeeded, it is important to understand the recent history of negotiations as we go forward. We made considerable progress, but ultimately there was no “deal” on the table that could possibly have gotten 60 votes in the U.S. Senate and provided an effective and lasting solution for agricultural employers.
I am a staunch supporter of Idaho agriculture. That support drove my involvement in working with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, for the majority of the last Congress to develop a bill to effectively address the farm labor crisis. The need for labor is dire, and seasonal labor costs are set to increase significantly again this year.
The farm labor crisis is driven by two main factors: 1) the lack of an able, willing, qualified and available domestic workforce; and 2) the runaway growth of the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), the federally required minimum wage rate for H-2A farm workers (and workers performing the same jobs as H-2A workers). The flawed methodology of this system has led to the AEWR in Idaho increasing by 40% since 2015, from $11.14/hour to $15.68/hour beginning Jan. 1, 2023. Those two issues combined with inflationary pressures that have sent other farm input costs soaring has...
A slew of NYPD officers recounted on Sunday horror stories from their careers in which they say they were falsely accused of sexual misconduct and, despite being exonerated, had the allegations sh...