Strengthening Seasonal Industries

As summer begins and the travel and tourism season kicks into high gear, small businesses across the country are looking for more seasonal workers, a greater number of tourists, and a quicker and more reliable transportation system. The U.S. Chamber's policy agenda includes initiatives to address each of these challenges.

 

 

Landscaping, food preparation, travel and tourism, construction, entertainment, hospitality, and recreation are among the industries that traditionally experience a greater need for workers during the busy spring and summer seasons, yet struggle to fill positions because of a scarcity of workers.

 

U.S. businesses encounter difficulty in hiring foreign workers to fill seasonal gaps. In fact, the World Economic Forum (WEF) recently ranked the United States as one of the hardest countries in which to hire foreign labor. "This is an area of concern due to the seasonality of much of the tourism labor force," according to the WEF.

 

The U.S. Chamber is working to solidify access to these essential workers through visa and comprehensive immigration reform. Currently, H-2B visas, which are issued to temporary workers from outside the United States, are capped at 66,000 per year.

 

Last year, though, the Chamber and its allies successfully lobbied for a bill to extend an exemption to the cap for workers who participated in the H-2B visa program during one of the past three fiscal years and abided by all its rules, including returning to their country of origin upon expiration of their visas.

 

The bill stipulates that only half of all H-2B visas be allocated in the first six months of the fiscal year, thus guaranteeing that visas are available for employers needing seasonal workers in the latter part of the fiscal year. This legislation expires in September, and the Chamber is working with  lawmakers to resolve the labor shortage.

 

As a long-term solution to the shortage of all types of workers, the Chamber supports comprehensive immigration reform that would improve security and border enforcement, create a process in which undocumented workers could earn permanent legal status, and ensure that employers can access the workers they need through a practical and effective guest worker program when American workers cannot be found.

 

 

As the dollar weakens compared with many foreign currencies, the United States has become a more affordable destination for foreign vacationers. However, because of stringent travel rules and regulations, foreign tourists are choosing alternative vacation spots. The United States ranks behind Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Iceland as the most attractive environment for developing the travel and tourism industry, the WEF notes. The success of the U.S. travel and tourism industry-which employs 7.3 million people, provides $163 billion in employee wages, and generates $100 billion in tax revenue for local, state, and federal governments-depends on foreign visitors.

 

"The United States is competing in a global marketplace for business, talent, and travelers," says Angelo Amador, the Chamber's director of immigration policy. "We are losing business not just because our processes are inefficient, but because other countries' processes are more efficient and welcoming."

 

The Chamber supports policies that make it easier for tourists to enter the United States. One provision of legislation pending before Congress would allow the State Department to rely on secured videoconferences in place of in-person interviews for visitors who want to come to the United States on a visa for school, business, or pleasure.

The Chamber also supports expansion of the Visa Waiver Program, which permits certain citizens of select countries to travel temporarily to the United States without a visa. Pending legislation would allow more U.S. allies to participate in the program while simultaneously taking steps to increase security.
 
Aviation Infrastructure

 

During the spring and summer, both business travelers and vacationers converge on the commercial aviation system, creating overcrowded conditions that often result in flight delays and cancellations. Without investments to increase aviation capacity, delays are expected to increase 62% by 2014.

 

Congress is moving forward on a multiyear spending bill for airports and the air traffic control system, and the Chamber is using this occasion to call for a complete transformation of U.S. aviation. The Chamber is pressing Congress and the Federal Aviation Administration to modernize the existing air traffic control system and devote additional federal funds for improving the aviation infrastructure and for developing new technologies.