Landscape Management, January 2012
35 JANUARY 2012 LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET ing to stick their nose in all these details with small business Haskett asks Ive got enough trouble trying to keep the doors open in a recession The uncertainty is almost as bad At least if I knew what was going on I could pick Plan A or Plan B What becomes more interesting is how the situation plays out if the wage and hiring rules go into effect making the H 2B program very expensive to use There are two groups of contractors in our market Gordon says The ones that are going to completely turn their heads the other way with regards to immigration which is most contractors The other ones are going to fight like hell to make sure they have a legal workforce H 2B is the best way to get that done Given this is in an election year it seems unlikely Congress will act to make any sweeping changes My greatest hope is that we have a new administration and a new DOL secretary that favors us over some of the labor unions Delaney says We can fix the system but dont break it The immigration system is broken and when we try to work on it they look to the H 2B program which everybody admits that we still have to have When we fix the immigration system we want a program like the H 2B to work The human element While its easy to look at the H 2B as a numbers game its easy to forget the people involved My guys arent just my guys Denison says My guys that have been here seven eight nine years have become part of this company Theyve become part of what makes Denison Landscaping what it is today And saying goodbye at the end of the season is difficult Its a bittersweet experience for them and for us says Haskett who hosts a cookout at his home at the end of every season Were happy that theyre going home and theyre happy that theyre going home to see their wives and children he says Ninety five percent of them are married and have families Thats what motivates them to come here Its family oriented Theyre going to their wives and children They have not seen them physically for eight or nine months Its a tremendous sacrifice they make to be able to earn a living No matter what happens the goal is to keep the doors open The H 2B program makes that easier But for Denison the mission is clear Were going to survive next year Denison says Our plan for the next couple years is to survive Our plan is to be here Were going to do everything necessary to be here Im going to continue forward and use the program LM Additional reporting done by Senior Editor Beth Geraci H 2B workers provide many companies like Signature Landscape a stable and reliable workforce they cant find any other way Fred Haskett hosts a cookout at his house at the end of each season before his H 2B visa workers return home to their families
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