GSI Members Speak Out on H-2B in New Orleans Times-Picayune

GSI member Raz Halili, general manager of Prestige Oysters, was quoted by the paper saying, “the prevailing wage for oyster shuckers is $17 an hour, a rate he called “grossly inflated” for the area.” Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News

by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editor

For a second time in one week, the Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI) is making headlines. In an article for the New Orleans Times-Picayune three members are quoted by reporter Jed Lipinski on the importance of recently passed H-2B legislation for the survival of the Gulf seafood industry – For Louisiana seafood industry, more foreign workers means survival.

The 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act rolls back reforms to the H-2B visa program to allow seafood processors easier access to the H-2B guest workers needed for their industry’s survival.

GSI member Frank Randol told Lipinski the majority of seafood processors in Louisiana recognize the importance of H-2B guest workers and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their continued arrival. Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood Institute

“If Louisiana’s seafood processors aren’t able to get the seasonal laborers they need, that threatens the entire seafood supply chain — from crawfish harvesters to seafood restaurants in the French Quarter,” Margaret Henderson, the executive director of the Gulf Seafood Institute told the Times-Picayune reporter.

Prior to the reforms, H-2B employers in Louisiana were able to use private wage surveys to determine appropriate rates for positions in different areas. GSI member Raz Halili, general manager of Prestige Oysters, was quoted by the paper saying, “the prevailing wage for oyster shuckers is $17 an hour, a rate he called “grossly inflated” for the area.”

Frank Randol, owner of Randol’s seafood restaurant in Lafayette and a founding member of the Gulf Seafood Institute, also told Lipinski the majority of seafood processors in Louisiana recognize the importance of H-2B guest workers and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their continued arrival. “There aren’t many things the Louisiana seafood industry can rely on,” he said, “but H-2B workers have become one of them.”

Read New Orleans Times-Picayune article here.

Tags: 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act, Featured, Frank Randol, Gulf Seafood, Gulf Seafood Institute, H-2B, H-2B legislation, Margaret Henderson, NOLA.com, Prestige, Prestige Oyster, Raz Halili, Times-Picayune