Hiring migrant workers a matter of survival for some Utah farms

PAYSON — McMullin Orchards puts out the "help wanted" sign each year for workers to prune its trees and harvest its fruit.

This past year, owner Robert McMullin had more takers than usual. "We actually had three or four or five applicants," said the third-generation farmer.

But, he said, none of them stuck. Some put in as little as two hours before deciding picking cherries or peaches in the hot summer sun wasn't for them.

"We have a difficult time hiring, even at 6 or 7 percent unemployment," McMullin said. "We would love to hire all these people they claim are out there pounding on our doors wanting to work."

"They" would be those saying that immigrants steal jobs from Americans.

From where McMullin picks, that just isn't happening. Same for Rey Allred whose Allred Farms relies heavily on foreign labor.

"Regardless of what politicians and right-wing radicals say, there are not local people who are skilled and willing to do this work," said Allred, who has farmed in Payson for 54 years. He used to hire high school and college students and teachers for the summer, but not anymore.

McMullin Orchards brings in as many as 50 migrant workers from Mexico to harvest its sweet cherries in late June and early July.

"They want to work. They work their hearts out and work hard," he said. "If we're going to stay in business, that's what we have to do."

Though Allred and McMullin would prefer to hire local workers, they say the have no choice but to wade through a bushel of bureaucratic red tape to bring labor from outside the country. "But the good thing about it is, we can have the same people who are skilled and trained to work for us year after year," Allred said.

And foreign labor doesn't come cheaply. Both farms contract with an out-of-state service to navigate the onerous federal work visa program. Allred figures he spends about $14 per hour per worker including wages, transportation to Utah and housing.

"It's just a hassle," McMullin said. "There's got to be a better way."

Some Utah politicians think so, too. The Legislature this year approved HB466, which would establish a partnership with the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon to provide migrant workers to Utah. More than that, the measure sets up a commission to study ways to streamline the visa process to make it easier for farmers like McMullin and Allred.