The workshop aims to discuss the consequences of both labor shortages and immigration policies in Californian agriculture and the tech industry. Particular attention will be paid to the H2A and H1B guest worker programs and their consequences for employers, employees and the industries more broadly. The workshop seeks to identify policies that benefit all stakeholders.

Schedule

8:45 am – 9:15 am       Registration, Coffee and Biscuits

9:15 am – 9:30 am       Welcoming Remarks

Johanna K. Schenner (Institute for Research on Labor and Employment)

Jasmijn Slootjes (Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative)

9:30 am – 10:30 am      Panel 1: The Tech Industry – Employees’ Perspective

Moderator: Andrew Moriarty (Forward US)

Commentator: Sameer Desai (Johnson & Johnson)

Speakers: Maria Ontiveros (University of San Francisco)

Robin Savinar (UC Davis)

Tech Worker Coalition (participant to be confirmed)

10:30 am – 10:45 am     Coffee break

10:45 am – 12:00 pm     Panel 2: The Tech Industry – Employers’ Perspectives

Moderator: Robin Savinar (UC Davis)

Commentator: Tech Worker Coalition (TBC)

Speakers: Andrew Moriarty (Forward US)

Meredith Gundrum (Grant Thornton)

Peter Leroe-Muñoz (Silicon Valley Leadership Group)

Sameer Desai (Johnson & Johnson)

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm      Lunch

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm        Panel 3: The Agricultural Sector – the Employee’s Perspective

Moderator: Nina Ichikawa (Berkeley Food Institute)

Commentator: Bryan Little (Californian Farm Bureau Federation)

Speakers: William Tamayo (Equal Employment Opportunities Commission)

Cynthia Rice (California Rural Legal Assistance)

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm    Panel 4: The Agricultural Sector – the Employers’ Perspective

Moderator: Cynthia Rice (California Rural Legal Assistance)

Commentator: Nina Ichikawa (Berkeley Food Institute)

Speakers: David Runsten (Community Alliance with Family Farmers)

Bryan Little (California Farm Bureau Federation)

Johan Fredrik Rye (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

3:00 pm – 3:15 pm      Closing Remarks – Nina Ichikawa (Berkeley Food Institute)

This event is supported by the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, the Berkeley Food Institute, the UC Berkeley Department of Sociology, the UC Berkeley Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Program, the Berkeley School of Information, the Institute of Governmental Studies, the Haas School of Business and the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative