Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/668668
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower MAY 1, 2016 11 ONLINE For the full list of new rules for the H-2A programs, visit Good Fruit Grower online at goodfruit. com/2015-worker-housing-rules/ Meanwhile, both foreign guest workers and domestic migrants stay in the temporary facilities. The Morales brothers and their 17 fellow tenants arrived at Brender Creek in January and have a guest worker visa contract through October. They're saving their money to build houses, open businesses or expand their own subsistence corn and bean farms at home. Many call their families only once a week because their remote villages have only one phone, located at a pay-per-minute business. "Honestly, we wish to be with our families," said Jose Juan Barrios, a 37-year-old father of three from Aixcualco, Guerrero, Mexico. "But over there, there isn't enough to succeed. We all leave our homes to have a better future." • Gempler and Fazio suspect the two state agencies did not announce the changes to growers and labor groups quickly enough, making the problems worse. Tyson said the agencies both were scrambling to fi nd a solution. "We cannot let this happen again, and we're not going to," Gempler said. Meanwhile, employers and housing operators face new temporary worker housing rules imposed in 2015 by the state Department of Health. Here are some examples from a list sent by the Washington Growers League to its members. —All dwelling units with a sleeping area must have a carbon monoxide detector in addition to smoke detectors. —Bathrooms must include walled partitions between toilets and must have separate fl ush toilets for men and women. —Showers must have partitions with nonabsor- bent walls. —All food-handling and cooking facilities must be covered, as well as enclosed or screened. Outdoor grills are exempt as long as the facility has ample cov- ered and enclosed cooking areas. —Common cooking facilities must have four sur- faces for every 10 people. —Bedrooms, bathrooms and toilet and shower stalls must have locks. —Sleeping rooms must include personal storage space with some enclosed, anchored and lockable portions. —All facilities must comply with state and federal laws for lead-based paint. • H-2A guest workers at Brender Creek board a van early in the morning, heading out for a day of pruning pears.