I’ve worked with a ton of these guys, they’re most often on H2A visas from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala… And some of the companies that contract them are… Not diligent about paperwork. Sucks for the guys. And beyond that, forestry work and wildland firefighting will absolutely grind to a halt without them in the west and southeast. Absolutely kneecapping all efforts to reduce fuels and replant burns/clear-cuts. There’s an argument to be made that the use of these crews is essentially forced labor anyway (pretty crazy economic gradient from here to their home countries) but all the guys I worked with were stoked to have the job and returned year after year. Anyhow I was definitely waiting for this to happen, and it’s going to result in more dysfunction in the forest industry.
I’ve worked with a ton of these guys, they’re most often on H2A visas from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala… And some of the companies that contract them are… Not diligent about paperwork. Sucks for the guys. And beyond that, forestry work and wildland firefighting will absolutely grind to a halt without them in the west and southeast. Absolutely kneecapping all efforts to reduce fuels and replant burns/clear-cuts. There’s an argument to be made that the use of these crews is essentially forced labor anyway (pretty crazy economic gradient from here to their home countries) but all the guys I worked with were stoked to have the job and returned year after year. Anyhow I was definitely waiting for this to happen, and it’s going to result in more dysfunction in the forest industry.