Is your company’s workforce prepared for Mother’s Day?

As the floral industry gears up for the Mother’s Day season; the influx of hiring temporary labor begins. Every floral importer/distributor throughout Miami is fighting to wrangle up enough staff needed to get through the holiday. As this is a very challenging mission, the overwhelming majority of Miami floral companies enlist the services of temporary staffing agencies, and have been doing so for a number of years.

But in today’s temp labor landscape; one that is laden with work opportunities, due to a steadily increasing economy; the staffing agencies we rely on, are faced with a very small labor pool to hire from. This might cause some agencies to “look the other way” in terms of formalities and documentation. What does this mean for the flower industry? A potential pain in the business.

With the Trump administration’s strong stance on immigration control, the state of Florida has already seen over 75% increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests from 2016 to 2017, after Trump came into office, according to a report by ‘Miami New TImes’. South Florida residents probably remember hearing about the recent ICE raids on several area ‘7-Eleven’ stores, for hiring undocumented employees. Or theraid on a Fort Pierce business, that saw 28-employees arrested and hauled away by ICE agents.

The Miami floral community has seen these type of raids in the past, but what we haven’t seen before, is the harsh penalties being doled out, to the hiring businesses.

I spoke to Jared Black, President of NewVine Employment Group, a Flowersandcents.com advertiser, to ask him his thoughts on the subject:

“ This is a real issue! We have heard of many situations of ICE walking into floral companies, big and small and demanding I-9’s on the spot. Those businesses who are not prepared, are facing very serious consequences. If you are using a staffing agency, you need to be sure, that they are properly vetting their employees, or your company can penalized as well!”

“Here’s a nightmare scenario for you… Picture ICE walking into your building and hauling away your workforce, right in the middle of Mother’s Day rush! How do you replace those workers? How do you get through the holiday? You most likely don’t!”

“Having proper docs is non-negotiable at our agency. Knowing the risks, and that our clients’ businesses having so much interaction with Customs and Border Patrol on a daily basis – it would be terrible business, and just plain stupid to think otherwise.”

NewVine Employment Group serves only the perishables industry, specializing in floral warehousing, production, and transportation. Having worked in the floral industry for many years, NewVine understands the roles and responsibilities of the temporary employees they place at each worksite.

The best way to fight this type of situation, is to be prepared. Make sure you have your house in order, and If
you’re using temp staff this Mother’s Day season, I would suggest giving NewVine, a call!

for Newvine click here

Williee Armellini
Editor; Flowersandcents.com
williee@flowersandcents.com