Trump Vineyard Estates, a wine-producing vineyard in Virginia, has began searching for 6 foreign vineyard workers under the federal H-2 Visa Program. This program allows US employers to hire foreign laborers on temporary work visas. Over 100,000 laborers have been brought in through the program per year since 2003. The Department of Labor posted a petition for the laborers this past Wednesday. The job is seasonal, and those employed are projected to start in January, and work through June. The application states that workers will be paid $10.72 an hour to work 40 hours a week, from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 7 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Applicants must have at least 3 months’ experience and will get an unpaid lunch break daily.
This isn’t the first incident regarding Trump businesses looking to bring in foreign workers, something many conservatives are firmly against.
Companies both owned by Trump and companies baring his name have sought to hire 263 foreign labors since the beginning of his campaign alone. Many of these 263 are employed as servers and house cleaners at his Florida estate.
The Trump team has yet to comment on the recent incident, but in the past the president elect has defended his actions by saying that it’s “almost impossible” to find American workers willing to take the jobs done by foreign laborers. A common argument Trump has used against employers seeking non-American workers is that they are taking Americans jobs. Going off of what Trump said, this is incorrect, seeing as foreign workers are taking the jobs that Americans are wary to seek.
The request by employers at the Vineyard comes shortly after an envoy from the United Nations aimed to raise concern about the mistreatment of H-2 workers, stating that it puts workers at risk of trafficking and exploitation. It also stated that often times, abuse is not reported due to laborers fearing deportation. That said, no Trump companies have been found guilty of abuse.
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