On April 13 - 14 , floral industry members will gather nearly with the key decision makers on Capitol Hill . Over a twelve meeting will take place as part of SAF ’s annual Congressional Action Days ( CAD ) making sure floral diligence need are heard .
During this yr ’s practical upshot , attendees will zero in on four key issues : immigration reform , enquiry funding , toll savings on moment and maintain the minimal pay . Through a series of target get together , growers , wholesalers , retailers and suppliers will civilise Congress , key staffers on the Hill , and federal agency appendage on the importance of these issues .
Overview of 2021 issues : Floriculture & Nursery Research Initiative : More Research FundingWhat SAF is postulate : Congress to increase its financial funding for FNRI by $ 1 million .
BackgroundFNRI is a federally funded program through the USDA ’s Agricultural Research Service ( ARS ) . It was ab initio conceived by the industry in the 1980s with the intention to help oneself guide and support floriculture and greenhouse research priority .
Importance to the industryFNRI is vital to our efforts to respond to pest and disease challenges , enhance the efficiency and sustainability of our production practice , and widen the content of the positive environmental and social impact of our crops . With the appropriate resources , FNRI can toy a significant role in the floriculture industriousness ’s pursuit of trim back crop inputs and cutting glasshouse accelerator pedal emissions ( GHGs ) throughout the supply range of mountains . General System of Preferences Reauthorization : Cost Savings on ImportsWhat SAF is call for : Congress to take immediate action to reincarnate GSP.BackgroundThe Generalized System of Preferences ( GSP ) has been in place for more than 45 age , push opportunity for the least economically develop countries abroad and stand U.S. businesses that bank on imported products to suffer and grow their businesses .
Importance to the industryU.S. floral retail merchant have benefitted greatly from duty - devoid imports of cut flowers both through trade agreement and GSP . almost 80 % of cut flower buy in the U.S. are grown in other countries and almost 95 % of those imported come in from state where relief from duties is applied . Local and family - possess floral shops and wholesalers are facing increased pressures through land activity on minimum salary , increase costs of healthcare and other challenges , the toll savings through responsibility - free import are pregnant to the health of their byplay and thus the industry . responsibility free condition has result in about $ 40 million per year staying in the flowered diligence rather than being divert to Union coffer , a number expected to increase significantly with the recent improver of rose to GSP eligibility tilt . These are dollars that are used to engage additional staff , promote consumer purchases , and commit in the hereafter of family businesses . However , GSP ’s empowerment expire on Dec. 31 , 2020 , and must be regenerate if the tariff - free status and business sure thing it provides for impertinent cut flowers and other intersection is to be reinstated .
hold the minimum wageWhat SAF is Asking : Congress should exert the minimal earnings . This is not the right clip for a Union increase , as it will only stunt the recovery of the floriculture industry .
BackgroundThe recently acquaint Raise the Wage Act of 2021 would increase the federal minimum pay to $ 15.00 per hour over 5 years and furnish for further increase in subsequent years . Congress should not burden small business owner with this significant toll increase , specially not now at a clip when small businesses are confronted with the bad pandemic in more than 100 years , with 25 percent of small byplay possessor describe that they will have to shut down their door if current economic conditions do not ameliorate .
grandness to the industryBusinesses in the floriculture industry have very narrow profit perimeter and can not draw increase labor monetary value . flowered industriousness commercial enterprise often pay in excess of the minimum wage to attract and retain valuable employee . An increase in the federal minimum remuneration would create an upward pressure on those already - higher wages and may prove to be unsustainable . Floral business owners know that more than doubling the federal minimum wage will require many to reduce their trade union movement force , edit out commercial enterprise investiture and , for some , cause them to close their doors .
Ag labor and immigration : preserve agriculture ’s workforceWhat SAF is ask : Congress must take action to transcend legislation that conserve agriculture ’s experient hands and provide for agriculture ’s future involve with a compromising , securities industry - ground agricultural worker visa program that allows access to a legal and reliable men moving forrard . grandness to the industryThe desolate labor shortage is impacting flush maturate performance today and menace the succeeding succeeder of the floriculture sphere and the vim of rural economy , which swear upon agriculture as a master economic number one wood . Small- and average - sized growers are at a decisive juncture do by the margin between profitability and deprivation due to the DoL - intensive nature of this sector and ill-conceived federal policy on agricultural travail . The encroachment goes far beyond the farm gate , as each on - farm employee back two to three other jobs up and down the solid food and agriculture supply chain .
For more information : SAFsafnow.org
