Thread: Colorado officials back plan to use repeat workers

Summer resorts favor interim 'fix'
Colorado officials back plan to use repeat workers

By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News
April 30, 2005

The Broadmoor hotel's human resources manager, Cindy Clark, is at the forefront of a political drive to raise the annual 66,000 limit on H-2B visas.

That's because her Colorado Springs resort was caught by the cap and barred from bringing in 250 summer staffers who normally come in from Jamaica.


She's an advocate for a "temporary fix" being debated in Congress. The proposal would allow employers to bring back foreigners they've used before, for this summer and next, regardless of the cap.

The provision also reserves half the 66,000 visas for summer workers. That could seriously limit Colorado ski towns' use of H-2B workers, unless they can bring back repeat workers.

The ski resorts and other winter employers have been collecting most of the 66,000 annual visas because they get first chance to apply each Oct. 1, the beginning of the federal fiscal year. This year, the visa allotment was used up by January before the summer employers got a chance.

The temporary fix passed the Senate this month as part of the Iraq appropriations bill. It now goes to a conference committee.

In Colorado, the measure has support on both sides of the aisle. Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar and Rep. Diana DeGette and Republicans Rep. Marilyn Musgrave and Rep. Bob Beauprez have joined as co-sponsors of the bill.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, an opponent of illegal immigration, favors adding H-2B visas because he recognizes the shortage of seasonal workers, said his spokesman, Carlos Espinosa.

But Tancredo would require employers to post the jobs for two weeks on the Department of Labor job bank. He would also require foreigners to "check out" of the country when their visas expire, because many now overstay and become illegal, Espinosa said.
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local ... 12,00.html

Sorry Tom We part ways here...........there are too many American college kids who would take those jobs in a heart beat. The only reason why they want the islanders is because they work for much less and put up with much more.

SORRY TOM.........not good enough

I go to Myrtle Beach a lot and eat out while there. Lots of young college kids still doing those jobs and seem happy to be making the money. SC is suppose to be one of the states with the lowest number of illegal alein's, got me thinking of moving down there.