Jorge Alcaraz isn’t one to be tied to a desk in an office.
Twin Falls workforce consultant Jorge Alcaraz
Alcaraz has spent the past three years serving as a workforce consultant for the Idaho Department of Labor in Twin Falls, helping customers from across the Magic Valley find answers to their employment questions. Recently Alcaraz has taken on additional duties working with the area’s migrant farm-worker population.
“I was always curious about farmworker rights and compliance work,” said Alcaraz. “I wanted to make a difference in our community by educating workers on their rights, and by spotting potential violations. I wanted to provide farmworkers with local resources as well as build relationships with growers, contractors and community partners.”
Building those relationships requires foot power: getting out of the office and connecting with people directly. The department’s farmworker representatives have federal and state goals to reach when meeting with the workers. But it isn’t simply reaching a quota. Alcaraz says it’s about making sure the people know that help is available.
“Most times farmworkers are seen as invisible in our communities and overlooked,” Alcaraz said. “It’s knowing you can make an impact in someone’s life by addressing complaints or by providing resources that they didn’t know about.”
Twin Falls local office manager Chet Jeppesen, who has nearly three decades’ experience with the Idaho Department of Labor, sees the department’s outreach efforts as vital to serving its community.
“Many of our farmworkers do not have an opportunity to access the local office as they work long hours in the fields,” Jeppesen said. “By seeking them out in their places of employment or in the fields, we are providing access to services, programs, and labor law information they would not know about if they had to visit a local office.”
Alcaraz agrees.
“We go out weekly, out to the fields, and we stop where we see any individuals working,” he explained. “We inform them of the services we offer; the workshops, the resume assistance.”
The visits, the relationship-building, and the sharing of information helps to build trust. The department currently has representatives across the state, representing all six regions of Idaho (north, north central, southwest, south central, southeast, and east) to help farmworkers with employment questions.
“We provide them with services such as resume assistance and career guidance,” Alcaraz said, while pointing out that bilingual services are in place to help customers who need them. “We have a job portal where they can register with the Idaho Department of Labor, which can help them find employment.”
More information and links to resources are available by visiting the Department’s website.