Agricultural Personnel Management Program
University of California

11/19/01  News Report -- Tampa Tribune

TAMPA - With Florida's winter harvest season fast approaching, the state's multibillion agriculture industry wonders whether it will have enough workers to pick crops.

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service clamped down on the Mexican border after the Sept. 11 attacks - a practice farmers fear could stem the flow of workers into Florida.

Farm workers entering the United States illegally provide the engine that powers Florida agriculture. By some estimates, up to 90 percent of Florida's agricultural work force shouldn't be here.

"It's no secret that a lot of farmers hire illegals," said Walter Kates, director of labor relations for the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association in Orlando. "It could be a problem finding workers this year."

Since Sept. 11, the number of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border from Mexico to the United States has significantly decreased, according to INS .

During October, INS apprehensions at the Mexican border were down 54 percent, compared with October 2000. The agency says border agents are working overtime to catch aliens trying to sneak across.

"We're operating at a higher degree of scrutiny," said Russ Bergeron, an INS spokesman. "The smuggling organizations are aware of it, and they realize that it's harder to cross. So they aren't trying it."

This might prove problematic for Florida farmers who say the effect of the crackdown won't hit until December and January when the harvesting of oranges, strawberries and tomatoes kicks into high gear.

"I'm hearing that people are afraid to cross," said Jim Beckley, owner of River Gold Inc., a Fort Pierce citrus harvesting company. "If they don't allow people to cross, yes, we are going to have a problem."

Others echo those sentiments.

"The situation certainly could tighten up the labor supply, there's no doubt about it," said Tony DiMare, a Florida tomato grower.

Because of their transient nature, estimates vary on how many farm workers live in Florida during the peak winter harvest season.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 60,000. The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association says 125,000. The Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing at the University of Florida says 233,000. And the Florida Farmworker Association says 400,000.

The National Agricultural Workers Survey, a biannual study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Labor, two years ago pegged illegal farm workers in the United States at 52 percent of all agricultural workers.

But the survey relied on workers to report themselves, so most folks in Florida agriculture think the number is much higher. Florida Citrus Mutual, a trade group, estimates it's closer to 90 percent.

Tough work for low pay

The work they do is difficult. The pay is not especially high.

Workers are paid by how much they pick. The rate for oranges is about 80 cents per 90-pound box; strawberries, $1.70 per 12-pound flat; tomatoes, 40 cents per 25-pound bucket.

Picking citrus generally is considered the toughest farm labor. Workers must be able to climb ladders to the tops of tall trees.

And tomatoes and strawberries are difficult in their own way. The small fruit is delicate, and stooping over bushes for hours can be brutal on the back.

Strong citrus workers can pick as much as 7,000 pounds in one day. That's about $8 an hour for an eight-hour day. Farmers are required to pay the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour.

To get hired, illegal workers produce fraudulent documents to harvesting companies or crew leaders.

Growers say they don't go over the documents with a fine-toothed comb because they fear getting sued by employment attorneys. They say if they question a legal, documented Hispanic worker too much, they could face a discrimination lawsuit.

So they are told by attorneys to take documents at face value, growers say.

Worker advocates say farmers like hiring illegals because farmers can pay less. In addition, farmers don't want to put themselves out of business by turning away illegal workers.

So far, the INS has taken a neutral stance on the issue. The agency says it concentrates efforts at the border, not on farm raids.

"The system is screwed up," said Rob Williams, an attorney who represents Florida farm workers. "I don't know if there will be a smaller labor force this year because of Sept. 11, but farmers always want a huge labor pool so they can pay less."

Long-term solutions delayed

In addition to shrinking the farm labor pool, the Sept. 11 attacks also pushed an attempt to reform farm immigration off the radar screen.

Mexican President Vicente Fox visited Washington, D.C., a week before the attacks, and farm worker reform was at the top of his agenda.

The central issue was constructing a guest-worker program that satisfies both agriculture and worker advocates.

Several bills in Congress, including one sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Miami Lakes, address the issue. But none have gathered momentum.

Farmers call the existing guest-worker program rigid and expensive. As a result, only a handful in Florida use it.

A hot-button issue is whether to give all illegal agricultural workers currently in the United States legal status, or amnesty. But growers want to require anyone who gets amnesty to stay in agriculture for up to five years. Worker advocates call this indentured servitude.

Before Sept. 11, the sides were nearing a compromise.

"We were very close to doing something," Williams said. "Maybe we can get it back next year."

For harvester Beckley, the situation renews a call for mechanical harvesting . A small but growing percentage of Florida's orange crop is to be mechanically harvested this year.

"When the state's sugar industry went through legal problems with workers a few years ago, mechanical harvesting caught on real quick," Beckley said. "It became cheaper to buy machines. Once that happens in citrus, you won't be able to build the machines fast enough."