Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

You are here: Home / Archives for Workforce

E-Verify mandate advances in U.S. House

By — Posted

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee this week recommended, on a 22-13 vote, that House Bill 2285 (full text) be advanced to the House floor. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and 41 other representatives (but none from the Northwest), would require that all U.S. employers use the E-Verify system to check worker eligibility. […]

Changes concern landscapers using guest worker program

By — Posted

Landscapers who have trouble finding qualified and willing workers have been able to fall back on the H-2B non-agricultural guest worker visa program to fill their needs. Starting on Sept. 30, however, that could become a whole lot more difficult. H-2B employers have always been subject to certain rules requiring them to search for non-immigrant […]

Nurseries and the 2011 Legislature

By — Posted

How may nurseries be affected by the 2011 Oregon Legislature and its revised political landscape? Mitch Lies of the Capital Press (Salem, Ore.) takes a look. Among the legislative priorities for the Oregon Association of Nurseries are protecting the Oregon Department of Agriculture against budget cuts, preventing attempts to regulate immigration (properly a federal matter) […]

OAN Lean project wins $27,000 grant

By — Posted

On Tuesday, the Oregon Association of Nurseries was awarded grant funds to expand training provided by its new Lean program. The program, launched in October, provides nurseries with training to help them fine-tune their production processes for better efficiency, less waste and greater profitability. Job Growers, a public/private partnership that works to improve economic vitality […]

State legislators promote ‘anchor baby’ bill

By — Posted

We reported yesterday that several newly-elected state Legislatures are itching to take on the issue of immigration in the new year. This morning we received word (via CNN) that a group called State Legislators for Legal Immigration is preparing a bill that somehow would take away birthright citizenship for children born in the United States […]

What’s ahead for immigration reform?

By — Posted

The American Nursery and Landscape Association, the Oregon Association of Nurseries, and other nursery trade associations have worked hard to provide a strong voice for business in the ongoing debate over immigration. These groups have favored comprehensive reform that includes both enforcement, and provision for an ample workforce, but despite support from the last two […]

Washington businesses challenge minimum wage hike

By — Posted

We reported back in October that the minimum wage is going up in Oregon and Washington, effective Jan. 1, 2011, according to officials in each state. Not so fast, say business leaders in the Evergreen State. They’ve sued to roll back Washington’s proposed 12-cent minimum wage hike from $8.55 per hour to $8.67 per hour […]

Oregon, Washington increase minimum wage for 2011

By — Posted

Oregon’s minimum wage will increase by 10 cents per hour to $8.50, effective January 1, 2011. The 10-cent increase mirrors a 1.15 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index since August 2009, according to a press release (PDF) issued by State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian. Inflation-based minimum wage hikes, rounded to the nearest 5 cents, […]

U.S. appeals court nixes city’s immigration ordinance

By — Posted

Can cities make up their own rules on immigration? According to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the answer is no. “”It is … not our job to sit in judgment of whether state and local frustration about federal immigration policy is warranted,” Chief Judge Theodore McKee wrote in the majority opinion. “We are, […]