This editorial first appeared in the Kodiak Daily Mirror:
Two weeks ago, the U.S. State Department announced it is delaying implementation of changes to the J-1 visa program until November.
That program brings hundreds of transient workers — international students on summer break — to Kodiak each year. Under the new program, those students will not be allowed to work in fish plants.
Processors reacted strongly to the proposal, which was scheduled to be implemented this spring. That would not have given them enough time to arrange for alternative hires.
Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich responded promptly to those concerns, encouraging the State Department to postpone the changes. They reeled in the results May 4 with the State Department announcement.
We agree with the decision to delay, but we encourage the State Department to stick to its November timeline.
Processors may protest, but one only has to look at national unemployment figures, and in particular youth unemployment figures, to see that we must encourage local and national employment first.
Last summer, processors expected a big salmon harvest. When that harvest came in below expectations, many J-1 workers were left without jobs, straining Kodiak food banks and shelters.
Alaskan and American workers are mobile — if a harvest comes in below expectations, they can move to where the jobs are. International workers on temporary visas are far more limited.
Processors have said it is difficult to find American workers willing to work long hours in fish plants during the summer. That’s true, but only because processors have become reliant upon the J-1 program.
Before the J-1 program became dominant, fish plants used hundreds of college students as peak-season labor.
If it is difficult to find summer labor, it is only because the hiring and recruiting processes that brought those students to Alaska have atrophied, not because young Americans are unwilling to work hard.
There are hundreds of thousands of college students across the country. Surely Alaska can find a few hundred willing to work.
Begich has proposed an H2O visa specifically for fish processing workers. It’s good to have a senator devoted to fisheries issues, but the priority should be hiring Alaskans and Americans, not finding a new way to bring in international workers.
If the J-1 changes are allowed to go into effect in November, Alaska processors will have months to prepare and find alternative hiring methods.
This summer, J-1 workers will return to Kodiak for a season of work.
Comments (11)
Add commentI worked in a fish processing
I worked in a fish processing plant for 4 summers in Alaska and I can tell you local kids and college students would not work there. The company hired local first hands down, no local or even American was turned away. Americans don't want to work for min wage 14 hours a day. It's sad but the work ethic for young Americans is nothing compared to the outsiders that were brought in. Out of hundreds of imported workers a few quit. The local kids? Most of them.
I hate to make blanket statements but sadly out of thousands of workers I have had under me at that plant over those four years, my hardest workers were not local or even American. If these plants could afford to pay even slightly decent wages that would change things. But they can't. Especially when they have thousands of young hard working imported workers that are not only happy to come work but feel fortunate for the chance, they take the min wage with a smile and thank you.
Shorter Alaskastu: "we should
Shorter Alaskastu: "we should be happy with whatever our corporate overlords deign to give us."
more than needed J1 workers
The real issue is the number of J1 workers that are allowed to come into these fishing communities. It seems as if there is an unlimited number of VISAs available. I've watched for years the arrival of these younger adults who are promised there will be work. Then when they hit town they find the number of jobs is far less than the number of workers.
Many of these workers go off to a remote location for a few weeks, Bristol Bay as one example, where they work four to six weeks maximum. Then as the works ends they find they have not made enough to pay for a return flight to Turkey, Croatia, or some other country. Most have paid some outlandish fee to an employment agency to get the J1 VISA.
As these individuals arrive in town or are laid off they rely on local charity to survive. The local community supports these individuals while the canneries just ignore the issue as its: not their problem.
Yes there is a need for these J1 workers. But allowing 500 workers to come into fill 100 jobs is not a viable solution. And the number of J1 VISA is in the thousands and the job vacancies no where near that level. Canneries in Alaska have required the same basic number of temporary workers every year for the last 20 years. I'm fairy sure the Alaska Dept of Labor could predict the job vacancies within 5%. Why is that not factored into the quote of VISAs allowed?
Stu's key point:
"Americans don't want to work for min wage 14 hours a day."
Yup. But desperate foreigners are willing to. So rather than raise the wage, the commercial interests want to bring in more desperate foreigners.
Pay a competitive wage and you'd be able to attract hard-working Americans. The best workers are finding better paying employment elsewhere.
I agree an increase in pay
I agree an increase in pay would be nice. Especially if they could get college kids to come up and learn about some real hard work, would be good for them. BUT i worked my a$$ off and i wasn't imported. I needed a job and took what i could get in that town.
I doubt there is always a processing plant with lots of jobs but i did notice people felt the plant was beneath them. Sadly for them it was the family members that paid for the pride they thought they were protecting.
And we're really picking on the Alaskan processing plants right now? Worried about American jobs staying American? Then stop allowing American companies to shut down work here and ship it overseas. Did you know that at the beginning of this year, Xtratuff boots are now 100% made in China?
If we are really worried about limiting outside work then do something on a large scale instead of just pissing in the small ponds.
14 hour days at minimum wage?
Lets do the math. $7.75 x 14 x 6 days weekly x 6 weeks = approx $4000. Then the experienced ones know how to get to the next job site before the season winds down. You bet visa holders will give you a smile. Know how far that will go back home? Let me guess, they are also exempt from payroll contributions such as social security, etc. which is a bonus for the cannery. Just guessing here.
I am getting a little tired of people, particularly management, berating fellow Americans regarding work ethics. I'm thinking management is getting just a little spoiled in this regard. Remember, it took some pretty sizable work ethics to get the fishery products to the cannery.
Then of course there are the middle men being cut out of the picture.
I will wager if J-1 Visas were suspended the canneries would find a way to "afford" a decent wage. There is certainly nothing 'decent' about the price I pay for the product in the store.
Here is an idea.
Instead of 'disallowing' companies from going overseas how about Americans 'disallowing' themselves from purchasing the product shipped back to us?
The people with that visa pay
The people with that visa pay over 40% back to the US. I can't remember what it's called but they get taxed hard, I've seen the pay stubs.
The fish getting to the plants, HARD work. That's why my little brother bought a brand new truck the year after he turned 18. They get paid good for their work.
Taxed @ 40%?
Wow! And still they come. Thanks for the info.
Free Labor
When I fished in Egegik one of the canneries wrote all the workers bouncing checks; since there's no bank, no one knew until they all left town.The State worked to get it's employment monies but all the Romanians got jack!! Good thing those weren't kids from Juneau working hard at a summer job!