No One to Spread the Mulch

Businesses are being forced to shut down due to labor shortages and lack of work.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
1216057 05b2c67b 5b1f160ba0815

Over nearly 50 years, LMS Greenhouse & Nursery grew into a sprawling landscaping company. They employed 10 full-time workers that grew flowers and trees in a 15-acre garden center in Hampton, Pennsylvania, planted lawns and sculpted designs for homes and businesses.

Each spring since 2003, company President Richard Cafaro has leaned on the help of 10 workers from Mexico—paying for their travel to the United States and buying a duplex to rent to them. “They became like family,” he said. 

This week at the garden center, the shelves were empty, weeds spouted up through the ground and a fleet of 10 trucks had been sold off. Cafaro is liquidating, laying off 10 American workers and will closing the shop.

The loss of half his expected workforce as a result of delays and restrictions in the U.S. visa system is the cause.

To view the full original article, please click here.

Latest