Carnival & Fair News

  At yesterday's full committee markup of the FY22 Labor HHSE bill, Congressman Andy Harris (R-MD-1) offered an amendment to remove provisions 116, 117 and 118 from the bill. Congressman Rutherford and Cuellar spoke in favor of the amendment and Congressman Pocan and Chairwoman DeLauro spoke in opposition of the amendment. After the debate, Congressman Pocan offered a compromise of removing sections 116 and 117 but keeping section 118. Section 118 prevented employers who have had any number of listed violations from participating in the H-2B program. Harris countered and said he would consider the proposal but only if this provision did not take effect until October 1, 2022. Pocan accepted but the Chairwoman said the amendment would have to be rewritten and reintroduced. There was not time for this. Therefore, the amendment, without any alterations, came up for a vote and it passed. Victory!Congressman Harris did a masterful job defending the program and his amendment but he did an even ...   [read more]

  The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the FY 22 Department of Labor Appropriations bill on Thursday, July 15.  The bill contains the language (in Sections 116, 117, and 118) supported by organized labor that would devastate the H-2B program and make it impossible for many employers to use the program – which likely includes your fair's carnival company and/or food vendors! This language would effectively kill the H-2B program.  The draft bill would:  Prohibit industries from using the H-2B program if they experienced unemployment in ANY of the previous 12 months over 10% (a majority of H-2B industries would be ineligible especially considering unemployment rates and COVID-19 over the past 12 months); Prohibit construction industries from using the program even in seasonal locations or occupations; Increase the baseline for wages to at least 150% of the federal or state minimum wage, whichever is higher; Require ...   [read more]