Editorial: Gulf Coast Labor Shortage Surfaces After Storms

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita brought with them a Pandora’s box of woes, including serious job and labor shortages. Some marine businesses are looking everywhere for workers.

Numerous maritime industries are impacted seriously by the departure of employees who have opted to accept jobs related to rehab and recovery work established by government to help areas devastated by the hurricanes. Some say the Federal Emergency Management Agency is “sucking up” all of the available workers.

Since rebuilding is expected to take years in many cases, it seems unlikely that the labor woes will ease anytime soon. The key factor, however, is wages. Workers who abandoned old jobs to get into debris removal, etc., did so because the wages are higher. But this is not the only cause of the shortage. The hurricanes took lives. The hurricanes forced evacuations, scattering workers hither and yon; and many still do not know what their future will be. Hurricanes have convinced some workers not to return to the Gulf.

As an example of the confusion and frustration in the aftermath of the hurricanes, the Chicago Tribune reported on October 3 that hundreds of businesses in hurricane-stricken areas were trying to get rolling again but they simply couldn’t find their current employees.

Gulf Marine & Industrial Supplies, a firm that provides food to many of the ships in the Gulf of Mexico, usually had about 75 employees in its New Orleans headquarters. About 20 had returned by early October. One employee was on the road in California when he reported in. “I’m never coming back,” he said.

Employers commonly report that companies are coming into the devastated Gulf regions as part of the recovery force and are “luring the few available employees away with higher wages.”

Ironically, the very “mechanism” being set up and used to help the Gulf in its recovery effort also is a cause for pain. One company official placed the blame on FEMA’s aid to evacuees, saying it “makes it too easy for them to relocate to other cities. ”He told the Tribune that he didn’t mind “helping people out, ” but “to basically set them up on a permanent basis—that kills our labor force.” On the other hand, many people who always wanted to leave for other climes but didn’t think they could afford to, finally can. Katrina, Rita and FEMA gave them that chance.

How many business owners feel as that company official did? Consider that, according to the Louisiana Labor Department, 80,000 businesses in the Greater New Orleans area were lost or damaged significantly due to Katrina and Rita. Between 250,000 and 325,000 jobs were lost in Louisiana. Just one example of the challenge it presents was clear in early October when Marriott reported it had been able to contact only 400 of its 2,800 employees in the New Orleans area.

As late as mid-October, many were complaining that housing was not available to workers they bring in. More than 200,000 homes were destroyed in New Orleans alone. Some business officials believe that FEMA should move recreational vehicles and trailers closer to New Orleans to house workers who want to return.

But the problems are still broader. Immigrant workers are being promised a pot of gold and not finding it. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported in mid-October that some contractors are telling migrant and foreign workers from Florida and Mexico that “jobs are plentiful, pay is good and billions of dollars of reconstruction aid are practically dripping from the trees…. While opportunities abound, many workers are finding a harsh and inhospitable environment.” The report quoted a worker association director who said some labor contractors take workers to these areas for several weeks of work and just leave them there. Some are paid too little, some not at all, and there is nothing they can do to fight it.

The Workers World reports that 1.3 million Mexican workers lived in the areas struck by Katrina and Rita. Many of them are undocumented. While these workers are fearful of seeking aid from FEMA, the agency has waived sanctions against employers for knowingly hiring undocumented workers. Knight Ridder News Service reported that there is fear that more undocumented workers will move into the devastated areas because of the relaxed rules.

From our viewpoint, the entire labor situation on the Gulf resembles a mulligan stew that includes just about every type of labor-hiring difficulty possible. It will take considerable time to iron out the wrinkles. It might be considered a workers’ market for those with desirable skills. They will move to where the richest gravy flows.

Not to be overlooked in the marine industry sector is the fact that the towing industry is fast running out of pilots. Too few are being trained, and it takes too long to train them. The harbor-boat industry is hardest hit because new licensing rules effectively triple the amount of time it takes to qualify to operate a harbor boat. All levels of the industry, from line-haul to dinner-bucket boats, will be, virtually, competing in the same labor pool.

In late-breaking news, it was announced Wednesday that the White House has reversed course and reinstated key wage protection for workers involved in Katrina reconstruction. The Washington Post reported that the White House was bowing to pressure from moderate House Republicans who argued that Gulf Coast residents were being left out of the recovery and that the region was becoming a magnet for illegal immigrants. Early after the hurricanes hit, the Bush administration waived a provision of the Davis-Bacon Act that guarantees construction workers the prevailing local wage when they are paid with federal money. It was believed the move would save the government money and speed recovery efforts. Now the labor picture changes again, hopefully for the better.

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