I would like to respond to a recent article published regarding Double A Vineyard’s proposed purchase of the WCA Home in the village of Fredonia.

The article implies that Double A Vineyards’ proposed use of the property is in some way connected with asylum seekers, or that those who would be housed at the property would be in the country illegally. This is simply not the case.

Double A Vineyards proposes to use the facility to house vital agricultural employees, the same agricultural employees who have lived and worked in the area for three to four years. They come into the country legally through the H2A agricultural Visa program.

All agriculture has struggled to meet the demand for seasonal temporary labor. In response to that, the federal government developed the H2A Visa agricultural worker program. The program has been successful, and it has grown from 50,000 jobs in 2005 to roughly 370,000 jobs in 2022. They work approximately seven months and then return to their home country under the conditions of their visa.

The process requires rigorous vetting before visas can be issued to employees. The program has several requirements for the grower and employer as well. First, the employer must pay the adverse effect wage rate, which is currently $16.95 in New York. This rate has gone up nearly 7% annually over the past few years. The employer must advertise the position to U.S. citizens for half of the intended engagement and hire anyone who qualifies. In addition, the employer must pay for transportation to and from the employee’s country of origin and provide transportation to work and grocery stores. Finally, the employer must provide housing which has to be approved by the Department of Health.

The availability of quality housing stock for temporary workers is a challenge. Some growers will bring in mobile homes on the farm and others will use whatever other housing options are available. I have chosen to purchase and renovate housing for our employees’ needs. The houses we currently have are in far better condition than when they were purchased.

The unique situation with the sale of the WCA Home will allow us to greatly improve the quality of housing we can provide for our employees. Our business could not function without this workforce, and we want to ensure we will have reliable employees in the future. We will, of course, continue to engage with village officials regarding any required entitlements process.

The Women’s Christian Association has a history of helping the community by providing assisted living for elderly women. The WCA also engaged in many other philanthropic activities, however, the WCA is no longer able to operate out of the property and has experienced significant hardship in finding a willing buyer of the property. Double A Vineyards is a family business started in 1990, and has grown to be one of the largest producers of grapevines and other plant material in the United States. Double A Vineyards would like to continue this tradition by providing high quality housing to vital Agricultural employees serving a local family business and here under the H2A Agricultural visa program. These employees are essential to our business and the surrounding agricultural community.

There has been tremendous confusion about migrant immigration that comes across the border being related to this purchase and I hope this letter serves to clarify our intent. While there is an extensive focus on a debate regarding immigration and asylum policies, the use of this property will be to provide quality housing to much-needed agricultural workers — workers who are here only seasonally, and who are lawfully present in our community under a federal program designed to address our community’s significant needs.

Dennis Rak is owner of Double A Vineyards Inc., a family business that has operated for more than 30 years.