Without visas for foreign workers, seasonal businesses are struggling to fill jobs

Sunnypoint Landscape in Egg Harbor should be building patios and planting shrubs these days, not turning away business because of a labor shortage.

But the latter is what’s happening at the 32-year-old Door County firm as it struggles to fill seasonal jobs normally taken by foreign workers.

Earlier this year, when Sunnypoint Landscape applied for visas to sponsor those workers, it received none.

And it also happened last spring, said business owner Lynn Zawojski.

“We are having to turn down work because we don’t have the people to do it,” she said, adding that her business lost about $300,000 in revenue last year because of the labor crunch.

“This is causing a great financial hardship for our company and family,” Zawojski said. “We are looking at possibly closing down our business.”

Sunnypoint Landscape has relied on H-2B visas that allow seasonal employees working in outside agriculture — often in fields such as landscaping, housekeeping and amusement parks — to stay in the country for up to a year.

But the government has left many American businesses that applied to sponsor H-2B workers empty-handed, with tens of thousands of positions unfilled.

“Last year, our revenue was down 37 percent,” Zawojski said, because Sunnypoint Landscape couldn’t find enough workers.

Resort areas such as Door County and Wisconsin Dells need thousands of seasonal employees, but it’s getting harder to fill those jobs as high school and college-age students pursue other interests, such as summer internships and classes.

Sunnypoint Landscape relied on some of the same workers, from Mexico, to return every summer.

“They would fly into Green Bay, visit with family, and be ready to work the next morning,” Zawojski said.

This year, her business didn’t receive any H-2Bs in a national lottery, where an unprecedented 81,600 of the visas were requested and only 33,000 were granted.

“We should have had our workers by April. Our season is here now,” Zawojski said.

Her business has a starting wage of $13.07 per hour, and it provides worker housing for about $160 per month, but there’s stiff competition for hired help in a labor market with low unemployment and thousands of seasonal jobs.

Last year, Zawojski said, she had a work crew of 10 people. Of those, seven were on parole for criminal convictions, and six eventually returned to jail or prison.

“We won’t do that again,” she said. “These are not reliable employees. You never know if or when they are going to show up for work or end up in jail.”

The H-2B program’s critics have said it encourages foreign workers to stay on in the U.S. illegally, and that some employers exploit workers since their immigration status is directly tied to their job.

Some have blamed the program for depressing wages and say it’s taken jobs from Americans.

That's not been her experience, Zawojski said, in trying to hire people for manual-labor, seasonal work.

“If this is a job you want, then get your butt to my front door and show up for work,” she said.

She has asked members of Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation whether there will be more H-2Bs issued this spring or summer.

Thursday, a spokeswoman for Rep. Mike Gallagher said it was up to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to make the decision on H-2Bs and that no further information was available

“By the time we get our summer help, it could be August. And I’m not looking to hire anybody else then,” Zawojski said.

Door County and Wisconsin Dells have thousands of seasonal jobs not filled by the local workforce.

Last summer, Door County tourism officials said, some businesses had to close one or two days a week because they didn’t have enough hired help.

Some hotels are paying housekeepers $15 per hour, with a sign-on bonus, said Matthew Falk, general manager of Baileys Harbor Yacht Club Resort.

“We are definitely looking for help,” Falk said. “In the last few years, I have noticed there are just a lot fewer kids wanting summer jobs.”

Tourist areas also use J1 visas, where foreign college students come to the U.S. and work between semesters.

Last summer, more than 400 students from about 40 countries were employed in Door County on J1 visas, said Phil Berndt, membership director for the Door County Visitor Bureau.

Bulgaria, Russia, Turkey and Egypt were a few of those countries. One of the program’s requirements, Berndt said, is the students can stay here only while they’re on a scheduled break from classes.

But even if it’s only for a few months, he said, the J1 students have kept some businesses open.

Last year, after intense lobbying from employers, the federal government issued an additional 15,000 H-2B visas. However it was too late for many summer businesses, according to Zawojski.

She’s heard her problem echoed by businesses across the country, including shrimpers on the Gulf Coast, New England innkeepers and Alaskan salmon fisheries.

Locally, she’s advertised for help online, in newspapers and at schools to little avail. She remains hopeful the government will lift a cap on H-2Bs so that her business can get foreign workers while there’s still demand for summer landscaping.

“We have to compete (for workers) with a high tourist area, a multi-million-dollar shipbuilding company and several factories that are constantly advertising for help,” she said.

Not having enough workers, she said, jeopardizes the future of the business that she and her husband, Dave, have run for about three decades.

“Our oldest son in college would like to take over in a few years. But it’s looking unlikely unless we can get the needed labor through H-2Bs,” Zawojski said.