Legislative Resolution on AgJobs could be timely
Washington Ag Today January 14, 2010 The Washington House Committee on Commerce and Labor heard this week that it would be timely to pass a House Joint Memorial calling on Congress to pass AgJobs legislation. Jeff Johnson representing the Washington Labor Council and the United Farm Workers Union told the committee that’s because there may be an opportunity to move a bill in Congress this spring. Johnson says there is a real push to separate AgJobs out from comprehensive immigration legislation and get it moving. Johnson: “And what I am told is that the window for being able to do that this year, short of comprehensive immigration reform, is between late February and the end of April this year. So the House Joint Memorial you have before you is absolutely critical, symbolic but critical political symbol to our delegation that this is something both labor and employers, legislators in Washington feel is important to do and do expeditiously.” Groups speaking before the committee supporting the House Resolution on AgJobs were the Washington Labor Council, Columbia Legal Services, and the Washington Growers League. The Washington State Farm Bureau represented by Scott Dilly had reservations. Dilly: “AgJobs in and of itself is insufficient. We need to have some mechanism decided for future flow. AgJobs is a component in this process but it in an of itself doesn‘t really solve the problem.” But the Farm Bureau is willing to work on the wording of the resolution. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network. ?
