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Foreign Visas: It's A Matter Of Time
By Craig Altschul
October 04, 2007
It's true that timing is everything. Most everyone in the industry knows by now that Congress (those elected officials of ours with an11 percent approval rating) did not act to extend the exemption for H-2B visa holders by the deadline of Sept. 30. That potentially spells serious trouble for mountain resorts (and related sectors) that are increasingly dependent on a force of foreign workers.
The Industry Report asked Roger Leo, Mountain News New England editor, to get some fresh perspective on the much-discussed subject from two of the resort industry's best sources: Geraldine Link, director of public policy for the National Ski Areas Association, and David Crowley, immediate past chairman of NSAA and part of the family that owns Wachusett Mountain in Mass.
How big is the issue? "Our latest industry survey, a really comprehensive one for the 2006-2007 season, shows five percent of ski industry workers nationwide were H-2B visa holders; eight percent were J-1 visa holders in the student-visitor program; and the remaining 87 percent were domestic work force," NSAA's Link told Leo.
Crowley said "the numbers are pretty big. Some resorts have 300 to 600 employees, and that doesn't even include nearby towns, where stores, lodges, and restaurants will have foreign workers."
He said the workers are coming from all over the globe. "They're coming from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Moldova, Slovakia, and Slovenia, among many others. That changes from year to year, depending on the economies at home. We used to see a lot of Irish, but we don't see them anymore because Ireland - the 'Irish tiger' - is doing so well."
Link told The Industry Report that Congress "will pass another exemption for returning workers, somewhere between today and Nov. 15. They'll make it retroactive, and visas will be available again. The question for ski areas is can the visa applications be processed quickly enough to meet demands of staffing during holidays. That remains to be seen."
She explained how the visa situation works. "Some resorts use H-2B workers more than others. Some will be all J-1s. For those resorts that use a significant number of H-2Bs, the fact that we've reached the cap on the first day of Fiscal Year 08 is fairly significant.
"The H-2B visa cap is split into two halves: the winter season and the summer season. Each gets 33,000 workers, with the ski industry focus being October to April. Because returning workers are exempt from the cap, the number of visas that are available is actually double those numbers."
Foreign workers are important to a ski area like Crowley's Wachusett. "They're housed here and always available. If there's a big snowstorm you can just call down to the house and get them to rally.
"At other areas, if they didn't have them they'd have no idea how to get the job done," he told Leo. "Some resorts may have 600 employees and are located in remote areas of the mountains and I don't think there are American workers who want these jobs.
"They make a lot of money - not only way more than minimum wage, but they get room and board. There are different deals out there - we pay wages, airfare, room and board, but ours might be a little sweeter."
Applying for visas is a two-step process that typically takes 120 days, Link said. "First, you go through labor certification with the Department of Labor - you've looked for domestic workers to do the jobs and they're not available. Then you submit a petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service for the visa.
"Ski areas like to train employees before we put them out on the slopes. We've got lift operators and other key positions being filled by foreign workers. Some come back every year, but there are new ones as well, so we want our employees fully trained and ready to go before the holidays hit."
Link said resorts which got their applications in early likely will not experience any impacts or delays, but there are some resorts that could be impacted.
NSAA has initiated a quick response in lobbying Congress to, as Link puts it," get the exemption passed, and get it passed fast. The clock is ticking and holidays are a crucial part of our business."
Member ski areas all have received info from NSAA, including a sample letter to be sent to their senators and representatives.
"We still need your help in e-mailing, faxing, or calling your representatives and senators to urge them to co-sponsor the legislation which will provide relief for the H-2B visa program and allow resorts to obtain the help they need to supplement their domestic workforce," the letter to resorts that The Industry Report obtained read. "Please urge your Senators to support and co-sponsor S. 988. In the House, please ask your Representative to support and co-sponsor H.R 1843."
Not to be flip about a serious issue, but how does one translate Moldovan?
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Comments
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I used to work at Vail and can attest that the foreign workers are good workers.
BUT:
There are plenty of Americans looking for work if only the resorts would pay a decent wage. That means enough to live on without having multiple jobs or a trust fund.
The fact is that the resorts are just looking for the cheapest workers they can find.
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Posted by: Vince Dunsworth | October 8, 2007 11:11 AM
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