Housing rule change about ‘bottom line'

Several years ago under the H2-A program, the farm labor corporations purchased a motel on 4th Avenue, an apartment complex on 10th Avenue, an apartment complex on Avenue A next to Ronnie's Pizza and an apartment complex on 1st Avenue at 5th Street and may have used some of the facilities behind the Desert Grove Inn/Motel.

The recent industry forum seeking changes in the housing rule was presented to blur and obfuscate the issue of temporary labor used by agriculture in Yuma County.

H2-A requirements for housing reflects the farm labor camps constructed around Yuma in the past. That housing was basic and situated in the rural areas.

The federal regulations for H2-A can be found in cyberspace as: “Employer's Requirements to Employ H-2A Workers.”

It would appear that the issue isn't about a daily commute across the border, but about the corporate “bottom line.”

Jack Kretzer

Yuma