Agricultural & Foreign Labor Services October News and Highlights

Agricultural and Foreign Labor Services staff had the opportunity to attend the Michigan Works! Association Conference in Traverse City on Sept. 7-9. The conference provided an excellent opportunity to be motivated by two dynamic keynote speakers: Jake Brown, who spoke about embracing fear and failing forward, and Ben Whiting, who discussed building a limitless culture.

The conference provided our team with invaluable opportunities to network with exhibitors who offered innovative and tailored employment solutions, comprehensive training programs, and opportunities for continuous education. The combination of this engaging atmosphere and the picturesque surroundings made this conference an unforgettable and immensely valuable experience for our team.

Our team is immensely grateful for the opportunity and we are eagerly looking forward to attending next year's conference, hoping to gain even more insights and connections to help us better serve our customers. For more information on next year's conference, go to michiganworks.org/future-conferences.

The Ministry of Migrants at Holy Angels Catholic Church is one of the outreach teams from the Diocese of Kalamazoo that dedicates their summers to visiting the housing of migrant and seasonal farm workers in parts of St. Joseph County. Their work is admirable, and they have created an outstanding rapport with the workers they visit. They understand the long hours, the sacrifices, and the potential needs of the workers.

El Ministerio Migrante often brings food, clothing and resources to help meet the needs of the MSFWs. Every year, they do their best to bring more resources directly to the workers.

Elizbia Xaxni-Capula, an Agricultural Employment Liaison (AEL), recently had the opportunity to partner up with them to share information about Michigan’s complaint system, employees' rights, and provide referrals to additional services.

Any business in any industry can offer a Registered Apprenticeship — making it easy to grow a talent pool that fits exactly what your business needs. Whether you’re in healthcare, IT, education or customer service, a Registered Apprenticeship can connect you with passionate employees dedicated to your business.

Watch this video to see how you can join the race to talent!

Explore the recently updated Michigan's Hot 50 Job Outlook

The recently-updated Michigan’s Hot 50 now highlights the top high-demand, high-wage careers through 2032. The career information includes title, projected annual openings, hourly wage range, job growth information, and the education or training level needed.

Discover seasonal jobs or temporary jobs

SeasonalJobs.dol.gov is an online platform that links people to seasonal and temporary employment opportunities throughout the United States.

Whether you’re looking for seasonal work or require a short-term job, the website assists you in finding suitable employment.

The Office of Foreign Labor Services (OFLS) is presently conducting surveys on prevailing wage and industry practices for Apple sectors. Employer participation is vital to ensure accurate assessment of prevailing wage rates and industry prevailing practices.

Completing the survey will not only help us comply with regulatory requirements but also ensure alignment with current industry norms.

The survey takes approximately 5-9 minutes to complete. Take the survey here.

Should you have any questions or require clarification on any part of the survey, please feel free to contact OFLS at LEO-FLCOffice@Michigan.gov.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in this important initiative.

Migrant Worker Rights

A new resource presented as a story in comic format can help agricultural workers understand their rights on the job.

• Download the migrant worker rights comic in English
• Descargalo en español

In an effort to foster more collaboration and share best practices, the ten states in the USDOL Region 5, of which Michigan is one, have established a weekly touchpoint led by the Kansas SMA. The SMAs typically discuss MSFW outreach services as the Wagner-Peyser Staffing Final Rule mandates states must contact the majority of MSFWs estimated to be in each state.

The group developed a plan to meet with outreach staff in each of the states to identify needs, barriers and best practices used in contacting MSFWs. The collaboration allowed Michigan AELs showcased two impressive events – an outreach trip to Hope Arkansas where Benita Rendon Murray met outreach staff, program managers and various enforcement agency representatives that serve MSFWs; and AFLS’ participation in the annual Farmworker Appreciation Day in Sparta, which has been celebrated for nearly 25 years.

MSFW outreach staff in region 5 deliver the following services to MSFWs where they live, gather and work:

• Assistance in the preparation of applications for employment services (ES).
• Assistance in obtaining referral(s) to current and future employment opportunities.
• Assistance in the preparation of either ES or employment-related law complaints.
• Referral of complaints to the ES office Complaint System Representative or ES Office Manager.
• Referral to supportive services and/or career services in which the individual or a family member may be interested.
• As needed, assistance in making appointments and arranging transportation for individual MSFW(s) or members of their family to and from local one-stop centers or other appropriate agencies.

The AEL team, comprised of 13 outreach workers, is always well prepared when they conduct outreach to MSFWs. Identifying the needs of MSFWs and their family members is crucial to their success and transition to employment they’re interested in. As part of their outreach efforts, the AEL team distributes a list of current and future job openings.

Recently, Paw Paw-based AEL Jesus Lule contacted Julisa Sanchez at a farm in Decatur. Julisa and her family travel from Texas to Michigan annually to do farm work. The family relocated to Florida several years ago but still travel to Michigan each farming season.

When Jesus ran across an opportunity at the Paw Paw Michigan Works! Service Center, he knew Julisa would be perfect for the job. After applying and interviewing, Julisa was hired as a Customer Care Specialist. Congratulations, Julisa!

Julisa is pictured above with SMA Gerardo Aranda and Regional Monitor Advocate Ray Garcia.