Congressman Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, recently met with upstate fruit and vegetable growers and Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth Harris in an ongoing effort to ease the process that helps supply local farmers with seasonal workers.

The two-hour meeting, organized by Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY-28), included several other members of Congress as well as the Deputy Secretary of Labor, top level Department of Labor staff, local growers and advocacy organizations.

“Upstate New York farmers grow seasonal crops that support thousands of jobs in the region, and it is critical to the area’s continued economic recovery that we do everything we can to support them,” said Owens.

“The H-2A program needs streamlining and it is important that growers who work with the program to adhere to the law have a seat at the table when that happens. I am pleased to work with Congresswoman Slaughter on an issue that is important to all of Upstate New York. We must find a way to craft a plan that will allow farmers to succeed, hire and expand.”

He said the practice of approving requests for seasonal workers by the Department of Labor has become inconsistent, burdensome and time consuming in recent years.

“Farmers are the biggest gamblers on earth. Every year they put everything on the line with the hopes that the weather will cooperate. They’ve told us that they need this labor to keep their farms profitable and local fruits on our shelves, so we have to do everything in our power to help them,” said Rep. Slaughter.

“This was one of the best meetings I’ve had in my time in Congress and I want to thank my friend Deputy Secretary Harris for coming with his staff to listen to our growers. Together we were able to have a very productive discussion about the inconsistencies growers face as they apply for seasonal workers and were able to explain the very serious consequences of not having the labor they need. Farmers have told me that without the necessary labor, they have been forced to pull up their crops, and if that means fewer crops are grown in Upstate New York, then we need to help them. This is a matter of American jobs. Our Upstate farmers cannot afford to play Russian Roulette, hoping that their paperwork is filed on time.”