LaMP is executing on a portfolio of work to strengthen responsible labor recruitment in the U.S. H-2A seasonal agricultural worker visa program. The H-2A program currently provides visas to over a quarter million migrant workers each year to work on farms in the United States. When H-2A works well, the program represents a critical solution to growing labor shortages in U.S. agriculture and an often life-changing source of income for migrant workers and their communities.
However, the promise of H-2A is threatened by perverse incentives built into the labor market and the program’s design, which can lead to poor recruitment practices and poor employment conditions. Meanwhile, major produce retailers and high-profile brands are turning up the pressure to find solutions to keep labor supply chains clean.
Our work focuses on strengthening responsible practices in the earliest stages of recruitment, as the first step in a worker’s journey can have a cascading effect on their well-being throughout their migration and employment experience.
We work alongside leading H-2A recruitment agencies, growers, produce retailers, and other stakeholders in the supply chain to design and pilot market-friendly initiatives that improve the competitive advantage and value proposition of recruitment agencies that strive towards responsible practices. We focus on shifting the economic incentives and financing structures that shape market behavior so that good practice is good business.
LaMP’s work on the H-2A recruitment industry has received support from the Walmart Foundation and the Western Union Foundation.
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