Immigration and Farm Labor: Challenges and Opportunities Chapter 4. Immigration and Farm Labor: Challenges and Opportunities Philip L. Martin Abstract Author's Bio Hired workers do most of the work on U.S. farms, Philip L. Martin is Emeritus Professor in the Department three-fourths were born abroad, and about half are of Agricultural Economics at the University of California, unauthorized. Hired farm workers are most closely Davis and a member of the Giannini Foundation of associated with the production of fruits and vegetables, Agricultural Economics. He can be contacted at plmartin@ and most are employed on 10,000 large farms across ucdavis.edu. the United States. Farm employers are adjusting to the slowdown in Mexico-U.S. migration with the 4-S strategies of satisfying current workers to retain them, stretching them by providing them with productivity-increasing aids, substituting machines for workers, and supplementing current workers with H-2A guest workers. Immigration policy is the major determinant of which 4-S strategy will dominate. 1 California Agriculture: Dimensions and Issues Table of Contents Abstract .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................1 Author's Bio ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................1 Fruit and Vegetable Agriculture .......................................................................................................................................................................3 Figure 1. U.S. Employment* in Agriculture and Related Activities, 2014 ..................................................................................3 Table 1. U.S.: Average Agricultural Employment (thousands): 2004, 2014, 2024 ..................................................................4 Three Farming Systems ...............................................................................................................................................................................4 FVH Commodities ..........................................................................................................................................................................................5 Figure 2. U.S. and California Fruit, Vegetable, and Horticultural Sales, 2014 .........................................................................5 Strawberries.....................................................................................................................................................................................................6 Figure 3. Average UI-Covered Agricultural Employment, U.S. and CA, 2005–15 .................................................................6 Table 2. California Farm Workers and Earnings, 2014 ..................................................................................................................7 Farm Worker Employment ...........................................................................................................................................................................8 Figure 4. State Shares of Average U.S. Farm Worker Employment, 2012 ...............................................................................8 Jobs versus Workers .....................................................................................................................................................................................9 Concentration by State and Commodity .................................................................................................................................................9 Figure 5. California Average Crop and Crop Support Employment, 2005-15...................................................................... 10 Figure 6. SAWs and Unauthorized Crop Worker Shares, 1989-2014 ...................................................................................... 10 Hired Farm Workers ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 1990, 2000, and Today ............................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 7. U.S. Crop Worker Characteristics, 1990, 2000, Recent (Share of Workers) ......................................................... 12 Employers and Earnings ............................................................................................................................................................................ 13 Figure 8. Average Hourly Earnings of U.S. Farm and Nonfarm Workers, 1989–2015 ....................................................... 13 Farm Labor Markets ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Recruitment .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Remuneration ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 16 Retention .........................................................................................................................................................................................................17 Unions ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 9. United Farm Workers and Farm Labor Organizing Committee Members, 2001–15 ......................................... 19 Table 3. UFW and FLOC Receipts and Disbursements ($), 2001–15 .....................................................................................20 What's Next? .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Status Quo ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 10. H-2 Jobs Certified and H-2 Visas Issued, 2005–16 ................................................................................................ 23 Enforcement Only ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Legalization .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 24 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 26 Data ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 26 Research Support ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Worker to Farmer ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 27 Thinking Strategically ................................................................................................................................................................................ 27 References ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 28 Appendix: Farm Wages and Consumer Prices .......................................................................................................................................... 29 2 Immigration and Farm Labor: Challenges and Opportunities Fruit and Vegetable Agriculture Agriculture is the production of food and fiber on farms, serve food (Figure 1).The average number of jobs for hired and serves as the keystone of the larger food system that workers on farms has been relatively stable at about 1.3 includes input industries such as seed, fertilizer, and million over the past several decades, as the expansion of equipment firms, as well as the output sector that packs, labor-intensive commodities such as strawberries creates processes, and distributes food and fiber to consumers in new jobs to replace those lost as labor-saving mechaniza- the U.S. and abroad via grocery stores and restaurants. tion eliminates