Must Act Before Wednesday: Forestry Contractor Legislation

The Forest Resources Association is asking for people in forestry-related business sectors to write their legislators about upcoming appropriations legislation that would help forestry contractors.

The Appropriations Committee is receptive to including terms in the Department of Labor's new H-2B Guestworker Wage Methodology Rule that would ensure it is workable for H-2B forestry contractors.

This rule governs how foreign nationals brought into the country to work are paid. The FRA says the terms under consideration would give employers the right to use a multi-tier wage methodology that reflects training levels, provide flexibility in scheduling the entry into the country of the worker, and include an exemption from the 66,000-worker annual cap for returning H-2B workers.

The FRA has drafted a model message to send or modify to legislators. It can be viewed here.

Messages must be sent to legislators before Wednesday, Nov. 12, the day congress begins a legislative session to complete business halted during the elections.