TV ad raises farm labor issue

YAKIMA – A Yakima Valley orchardist who has struggled to find an adequate number of farm laborers this season is appearing in a television commercial, urging viewers to contact Gov. Christine Gregoire to help resolve the situation.

The 30-second commercial features John Verbrugge in a cherry orchard surrounded by trees laden with ripe fruit. The television spots will run for the next two weeks under a joint effort by Verbrugge and Global Horizons, a California-based agricultural labor contractor.

“I want the governor to come over here and do as she promised: listen to this side of the state,” Verbrugge told the Yakima Herald Republic.

At issue is the federal guest-worker program, which has been widely used in the United States but was introduced to the Washington tree-fruit industry just last year.

The H-2A program, administered by the Department of Labor as well as state agencies, is designed to provide temporary foreign agricultural workers when the local labor pool fails to meet farmers’ needs.

Under the program, Global Horizons brought an estimated 170 workers from Thailand in 2004 to work at two Yakima Valley companies: Verbrugge’s Valley Fruit Orchards and Green Acres Farm.

Since then, at least two state agencies have issued fines and sanctions against Global for the way it handled its contracts in Washington.

The company, which has applied to bring more guest workers to the valley this year, is contesting the state’s actions.

In addition, Columbia Legal Services in Yakima is preparing a lawsuit on behalf of local workers whom it contends were either denied jobs last year or lost jobs as a result of Global’s practices, lawyer Lori Isley said.

Company officials were unavailable for comment.