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The Mid American Ag and Hort Services (MAAHS) organization is up and running and ready for business, according to Executive Director John Wargowsky. The group offers labor consulting and advice, and Farm Bureau members are eligible to join.

What is MAAHS? MAAHS is a consortium of associations, organizations and employers organized to meet the educational, compliance assistance and labor recruiting needs of agricultural and other employers. A board of trustees including sponsor members and employer members oversees MAAHS. Wargowsky manages day-to-day operations. The group's mission is to improve the working and earnings environment for employers and workers involved in agriculture and other areas of employment.

How does it work? MAAHS will provide an adequate supply of well-trained and motivated workers to its members, while obeying all laws pertaining to recruiting, training, safety and employment. MAAHS believes all agricultural workers must be treated with fairness, respect and dignity, and declares that all member employers do the same. MAAHS currently serves employers in Ohio and Indiana.

Membership is available to associations or organizations whose members are employers that would benefit from MAAHS services. Sponsor members' organizations finance, promote and provide program/service facilitation as determined in the Sponsor Member agreement. Ohio Farm Bureau is a sponsor member.

Being a Sponsor Member allows members to join MAAHS as employer members. First Year Dues – $1 per member with a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $5,000. Subsequent Year Dues – $1 per member with a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $1,000.

Employer members are individuals, partnerships, corporations or organizations that employ other people and need services such as education, compliance assistance and labor recruiting.

Each Employer Member must be a member in good standing of at least one Sponsor Member. (A list of current sponsor members is available from MAAHS.) Terms of membership are spelled out in the Employer Member agreement.

Annual Dues – $10 per employee (count at peak employment) with a minimum of $200 and maximum of $500. There is a first-year initiation fee of $100. Enhanced services are available for additional fees.

Wargowsky said MAAHS meets a unique set of needs, and offers a higher level of personal service to members. "The risks of being fined far outweigh many years of membership dues," Wargowsky said. "It's our goal to avoid those risks."

Basic Services (included in basic membership fee)

• Ag & Hort Employers Compliance Handbook
• Educational seminars (special member rate registration fees) – Topics could include labor law compliance in all areas of human resource management, safety and health training, communication and conflict resolution and other issues as necessary (meal costs and hotel charges are not included in basic Employer Member fee).
• Newsletter – Delivered 10 to 12 times per year via e-mail
• Gempler’s Alert (Newsletter – a $99 value)
• Twenty percent discount on Gempler's educational materials and a one-time 15 percent discount on all Gempler's products.
• Basic Phone Consultation – MAAHS staff will be available during normal business hours to discuss items in the handbook.

H-2A (agricultural) and H-2B (nonagricultural, seasonal) Guestworker Recruiting Services (fee-based)

• Timely preparation of industry labor certification application categories. All supporting work with the state employment services agencies and the U.S. Department of Labor.

• Timely preparation of all visa applications for employers and supporting work with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
• Work with recruiting companies in Mexico, Jamaica and other "sending" countries to identify and recruit appropriate qualified and available labor resources. Arrange worker transportation to and from employer.
• Assist employer with domestic recruitment and other requirements of H-2A and H-2B regulations. H-2A and H-2B compliance guidelines that will supplement the basic Ag & Hort Employers Compliance Handbook.
• Annual H-2A and H-2B Compliance Seminar.
• Telephone consultation during regular business hours to respond to compliance questions.

Domestic Recruiting Services (fee-based)

• Assist employers in developing an attractive disclosure brochure that will help employers attract workers and meet Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act (MSPA) disclosure requirements.

Migrant Labor Camp Construction and Licensing (fee-based)

• Assist employers in the regulatory process of building new migrant labor camps.
• Facilitating services for employers experiencing difficulties with housing regulators.

For more information, including membership applications, contact MAAHS at
Two Nationwide Plaza, P.O. Box 479, Columbus, Ohio 43216-0479, by phone at 614-677-4530, fax at 614-249-2200 or e-mail: labor@ofbf.org