Narrative: e. 1.

The Agricultural Outreach Plan (AOP) details the activities planned for providing a full range of employment and training services to the agricultural community, and outreach to Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers (MSFWs), who are not being reached by normal intake activities conducted by Employment Service local offices, H-2A foreign guest workers as well as Agricultural employers for the period of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023. It is also prepared in accordance with WIOA proposed Section 167 and Unified Planning Guidance.

Under WP, as amended by WIOA, PRDOLHR is responsible for the development of specific strategies to ensure the proper provision of services to MSFWs through the AJC’s, in a manner that is quantitatively proportional and qualitatively equivalent to those provided to non-MSFWs. Additionally, included is a full description of how services will be delivered to Agricultural employers to ensure that their labor supply needs are met by reaching and placing the available domestic workforce.  The PRDOLHR is also committed to ensuring that H-2A foreign guest workers and domestic farmworkers are aware and fully understand their rights and become familiarized with labor laws established to protect them.

Puerto Rico continues to be a designated significant MSFW State due to the large number of farmworkers reported as participants in the WP program as recorded in the current Labor Exchange Reporting System (LERS) 9002A report. The territory remains very active as a significant provider of workers for a dozen states and recurrently processes hundreds of Agricultural employment orders through the H2A and ARS systems, resulting in placement of eager MSFWs who year after year look forward to their pick seasons. However, many MSFWs from PR continue to face substantial challenges in their effort to secure agricultural jobs in the United States due to discriminatory practices of some H-2A employers, who tend to require experience tailored to the specific crops rather than seeking the skill set required for the tasks described on the job order.

As in many other states, Puerto Rico farmworkers, including MSFWs, have similar needs to immigrant and low wage worker populations. The following are some of the most common needs identified in the MSW population of PR:

• Lack of flexibility in their working hours which precludes them from accessing basic services, as agricultural work hours do not coincide with typical business hours;
• Extremely low wages due to a lack of Agricultural Surveys that could determine if the current prevailing wage meets at least the minimum wage requirement;
• Poor access and/or assistance with transportation not only to their workplace but also to basic services such as health, legal counseling and education;
• Lack of coordination of assistance to access educational development opportunities, as many appear to lack basic skills;
• Lack of resources and support system to find work in agriculture by word-of-mouth, friends and family within their neighborhood;
• Lack of young farmers and that 65% of the island's agriculture workforce is over 55 years of age. The decrease in new farmers will have significant negative effects on the island's agriculture in the coming decades;
• Lack of knowledge and proper training to protect themselves of workplace hazards;
• Discriminatory practices in the hiring process reducing their chances of obtaining employment; 
• Low educational level, some totally illiterate;
• Lack of basic communication skills in English which precludes them from seeking employment offered by US employers; and
• Limited or poor conditioned housing facilities near their place of employment.  

PRDOLHR will continue its commitment in assisting MSFWs to overcome these challenges by ensuring that WP services such as job search assistance, counseling, testing and referral services, including the wide range of training services available under WIOA and the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) are made easily available to them.