A smooth integration

Brett Cromly is the nursery manager of Monrovia’s Cairo, Georgia, operation. He’s been there for eight years, and finding labor was a constant struggle. The 2024 season was their first using Legacy Labor for H-2A labor.

“It’s been a game changer,” Cromly says. “We have been able to have a sustainable, consistent form of labor that we haven’t been able to have for quite some time. For us, it’s a been a breath of fresh air to make sure we have the labor to get the work done. It’s raised our efficiency as well.”

The H-2A process is complicated, as anyone who’s tried it can attest. Cromly says the biggest advantage of working with a contractor like Legacy Labor is that the contractor takes care of everything – housing, government paperwork, securing visas and communicating with the consulate.

“There are a lot of regulations when you move into the H-2A realm,” Cromly says. “It’s hard to keep up with. If you miss one thing, it’s risky. So we take a little risk off of our end knowing that it’s taken care of on the Legacy side.”

Legacy Labor handles transportation from consulate to work site. Once the workers arrive, they’re on Legacy Labor’s payroll, so they handle the payroll, workers’ compensation insurance and even housing.

Legacy Labor’s H-2A staff uses Monrovia’s time clocks to punch in and out each day, so Cromly has his record of each employee’s hours, but Legacy keeps its own records as well.

“With the double punch, what we do is compare the hours to make sure we’ve both agreed to what has been paid,” Cromly says.

There are two systems growers can choose from for timekeeping: mobile phones/tablets or kiosks. You can install the kiosks at your location or use a mobile app. Monrovia decided to use the phone option. Legacy sends one invoice a week for payroll. All the grower has to worry about is paying that bill once a week.

If growers already have housing that is up to specifications, Legacy will utilize theirs and charge them a different rate that accounts for that. The contractor also provides vehicles and drivers for transportation on-site.

For Monrovia, Legacy Labor bought homes in Cairo to house its workers. It’s a separate entity from Monrovia and a relief that the contractor takes care of that entire part of the program, so Cromly can focus on producing and shipping the best plants he can.

“Legacy Labor does a very good job of it,” Cromly says. “They’re very open and forthright about where the workers live. They let us know what the condition of the housing looks like. We know they’re treated very well, and for us, that’s an important part of it. Because if you’re not controlling where they live and how they’re eating, there’s still that uncertainty of how they’re treated. And we know Legacy’s doing a good job of that.”

Working with a contractor for H-2A starts with a lot of planning on the grower’s end. Nurseries need to be very clear about how they will utilize the H-2A workers, with detailed descriptions of job duties. Then, there’s about a three-month window from when the grower signs a contract explaining its labor needs to Legacy Labor traveling to the consulate and working to approve the laborers and facilitating their move.

Cromly says the toughest part of the process from a manager’s perspective was helping his team members understand the specific job duties H-2A workers can perform and making sure they are utilizing them to the fullest degree. Monrovia has specific jobs for H-2A workers in the canning department, loading department and production department.

“If you’re trying to do it on your own, I would strongly encourage you to get some help,” Cromly says. “Someone like Legacy can help you along the way and make sure every P and Q is covered because there’s so much going on and there’s also so much changing in Congress. Every week, some new law or something happens, and they keep up with it. They’ve got a great team that knows every in and out of every job. Anything you need to know to move into the H-2A realm, they know it all. For us, we’ve learned a lot from them as we go through the process. To know that they’ve got that knowledge has been fantastic.”

For more: www.legacylabor.com