BACK

H-2B Returning Worker Exemption Expires—Emergency Action Needed

1. Call the Washington, D.C., offices and the district/state offices of your representative and U.S. senators. Ask to speak with the following individuals:

• Chief of staff and legislative director (in the Washington offices)

• State or district director (in the state or district offices)

It does not matter if your senator or representative supports the bill. Since the bill has not passed, Congress must act now.

Talking Points:

• You cannot find enough workers for your company, despite trying to recruit every available American you can find. Your needs are seasonal, and there are not enough Americans who want to work seasonal jobs.
  
  
• You have followed the law by participating in the H-2B program. You treat your workers fairly, pay good wages, and participate in the program only because you cannot find U.S. workers.
  
  
• Your foreign workers have followed the law and gone home every year. They, like you, jump through hoops in order to return to work each year.
  
  
• Without the H-2B Returning Worker Exemption, you will not be able to get the workers you need to keep your business going. Congressional inaction allowed the exemption to expire on September 30. Now Congress must act by passing the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2007 as quickly as possible.
  
  
• If Congress does not pass the Save Small Business Bill, your company may be forced to lay off full-time American workers, curtail contracts, and eliminate services to clients, customers, and communities. The ripple effects will be felt far and wide.

2. Get your key U.S. employees, your colleagues in the local chamber of commerce and business associations, your suppliers and distributors, your customers, and your friends and neighbors to make calls, too.

3. Contact your local newspaper and television station to get their attention on your increasingly desperate situation.

Get your story out to as many people as possible. Use the talking points above to describe the overall situation, and then discuss what the expiration of the H-2B Returning Worker Exemption means specifically to your company and the Americans (employees, customers/clients, suppliers, distributors, families, etc.) who depend on you.

For additional background and talking points, visit www.savesmallbusiness.org.