On Monday, 22 June, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order to temporarily suspend foreign seasonal workers from entering the United States. However, the order carves out an exception for workers who provide “services essential” to the country’s food supply chain.
That’s good news for U.S. seafood processors who depend on H-2B visa workers to fill critical jobs during fishing season.
In the order, Trump said
… Read MoreThe AFL-CIO on Thursday, 18 June sought a rehearing before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in District of Columbia as it seeks to force the federal government to develop emergency workplace safety standards regarding the novel coronavirus.
The resubmission happened one week after a three-judge panel in the district denied the federation of labor unions request after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opted not to issue
… Read MoreTwo U.S. congressmen have filed a bill that would allow states to declare fishery disasters because of pandemics including COVID-19.
The legislation filed by U.S. Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) would update the Magnuson-Stevens Act to include pandemics as a disaster reason, which would open the door for additional funding.
“Coronavirus is just as much of a disaster for this fishery as it would be if a Category
… Read MoreThe Southern Shrimp Alliance has called into question efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to inspect food imports during the COVID-19 crisis ...
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… Read MoreNearly three months after a fire destroyed its production facility, NaturalShrimp, Inc. has announced plans to rebuild in its hometown ...
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… Read MoreU.S. lawmakers are continuing the call for more funding for the seafood industry, which has been battered by the COVID-19 crisis. However, the window for such funding may be closing.
States with seafood industries received a collective USD 300 million (EUR 264.2 million) in funding through the CARES Act in March, and officials from the Trump administration announced the allocation splits of those funds last month. However, even before those
… Read MoreGroups of Republicans in both the U.S. House and Senate wrote to U.S. President Donald Trump this week urging his administration to exclude temporary visa programs, such as the H-2B visas, from efforts to curb immigration.
The letters, reported by Law360.com and TheHill.com, come a couple weeks after the Department of Homeland Security announced it would not bump up the total of H-2B visas, which permit nonimmigrant laborers to work in seasonal
… Read MoreShrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico reported landings in April that once again show a decline from the previous year ...
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… Read MoreThe U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote Friday morning, 15 May, on the next round of COVID-19 relief funding, and the USD 3 trillion (EUR 2.8 trillion) Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act does include funding for fisheries that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic …
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… Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will not increase the cap on H-2B visas for the 2020 fiscal year, but the agency is implementing a new rule it said will give food processors more flexibility to help them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rule, scheduled to be published Thursday, 14 May, will allow companies to hire current visa holders already in the country for work, according to a statement posted on the U.S.
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