Objective: under the terms of this cooperative agreement, the united farm workers of america (UFW) will provide technical assistance to the U.S. Department of agriculture (USDA) to design and help…

Objective: under the terms of this cooperative agreement, the united farm workers of america (UFW) will provide technical assistance to the U.S. Department of agriculture (USDA) to design and help identify appropriate incentives for agricultural employers to participate in a pilot program targeted at driving U.S. Economic recovery and safeguarding domestic food security by addressing current labor shortages in agriculture; reducing irregular migration through the expansion of legal pathways; and improving labor protections for farmworkers. Through the cooperative agreement, UFW will meet and engage directly with agricultural employers to better understand (1) the challenges employers face in securing a stable labor force and (2) the labor standards these employers are willing to accept in order to receive USDA support to stabilize their workforce. In addition, through the cooperative agreement, UFW will meet and engage directly with employers, grower organizations, labor unions, farmworker organizations, and other relevant stakeholders to better understand (1) the challenges workers face in securing employment that complies with the law and provides workplace protections; (2) the challenges employers face in securing a stable labor force and (3) the incentives needed for employers to participate in a USDA program designed to stabilize their workforce (4) the labor protections employers are willing to accept in order to receive USDA support to stabilize their workforce. Following UFW's outreach to employers, farmworker/labor organizations, and other relevant stakeholders, UFW will prepare and submit a written report to USDA outlining a specific proposal recommending (1) a set of incentives to offer agricultural employers who agree to hire farmworkers from northern central american countries under the seasonal h-2A visa program and (2) a set of robust worker protections, including a method of verification, that employers must agree to uphold for both their U.S. And h-2A workforce, in order to participate in the pilot program and benefit from the aforementioned set of incentives. The outreach, research, and final written report that will be made possible through this cooperative agreement will provide vital information to USDA to address key issues and recommendations identified in executive order 14017 agri-food supply chain assessment, which include, but not are limited to, working with federal partners (department of labor, department of homeland security, and others) and labor organizations to support safe and fairly compensated jobs across the agri-food supply chain and ensure that any visa programs, such as h-2A, have fair and adequate protections and pay for workers. The federal agency will: 1. Convene federal partners, as needed, to deliver project updates and seek feedback on the content and implementation of the final written report. 2. Collaborate with the cooperator to oversee project timeline and alignment of deliverables with project goals, including organizing consistent check-in calls to provide feedback on the content and implementation of the project and report. 3. Collaborate with the cooperator, as needed, to review, edit, and format project deliverables. 4. Review and provide feedback on all materials developed through this agreement. 5. Provide the cooperator with a SUM not to exceed $523,626 to cover allowable costs and monitor the submission of deliverables. The cooperator will: 1. Participate in check-in calls and other coordination with the federal agency and its federal partners. 2. Support communication efforts, including dissemination of information about the pilot program and invitations for input from stakeholders on aspects of the pilot program (e.g. goals, appropriate incentives, potential mechanisms, potential services that could support a successful pilot, etc). 3. Conduct targeted, individualized outreach to agricultural employers to solicit input and feedback on pilot program. If a pre-existing CBA exists between an employer and a union other than UFW, UFW will consult with that union before conducting outreach. UFW will canvas a broad cross section of production agriculture. 4. Conduct targeted outreach to grower organizations, labor unions, farmworker advocacy groups, and other relevant stakeholders to solicit input and feedback on pilot program. 5. Develop a proposed set of criteria for "high road" employers, including ways to measure and confirm employer eligibility for an incentive program based on verification of that criteria. 6. Identify potential agricultural employer participants, based on their capacity to engage in an incentive program, and describe what types of support such employers may require. 7. Provide to federal agency weekly reports (1 page) of deliverables, with more detailed monthly progress reports. 8. Provide a final, publicly available written report, proposing appropriate incentives, criteria, and policy options for the pilot program. 9. Submit requests for advances or reimbursements to the federal agency on form SF-270, request for advance or reimbursement, or via ezfedgrants portal as practicable. 10. Immediately refund to the federal agency, at the end of the agreement, any balance of unobligated funds advanced. This agreement is assessed an administrative charge as provided under the debt collection act of 1996. Late payments are assessed an interest charge of 18 percent per month after 60 days. A penalty charge of 7 percent is assessed per month, in addition to the interest charge, after 90 days. 11. Keep a separate account of expenditures and provide the federal agency a final federal financial report, form SF- 425, submitted no later than 90 days after the end of the agreement.