Food Worker

Work description

1. Business history and activities Solem Concessions is a family-owned and operated mobile food concession business since 2014. Our primary business is the operation of food concessions from January through October at multiple locations and at small to large events like state and county fairs, carnivals, and festivals throughout the U.S. as listed in our itinerary. 2. Explanation of temporary need Our need for carnival workers is seasonal. 2.1. Tied to a season. Our need is tied to the seasons by particular events or patterns. The event season begins in January and runs through the end of October. The specific patterns that tie our business operations to various seasons are: Weather. Seasonally warming weather in our locale allows our events to be held outdoors, followed by seasonally cooling weather that inhibits patronage and sustainable events disappear. Warmth facilitates recreational activity and patronage, thereby fostering our contracted events. The rainy season may also influence the seasonality of our business. Calendar lock. As is standard industry practice, our business is generally based upon working the same fairs, carnivals, and festivals each year. Thus, the events in our itinerary have their own pattern because they are contractually immutable: If an event is canceled (e.g., national emergencies, power outages) or we are unable to perform, there are no do-overs for that specific event. Agricultural events. Fair season (the predominance of agriculturally-themed, planting and harvesting fairs, festivals, and events that are oriented toward the growing season or the seasonal livestock breeding and birthing cycle). Special events. Established holidays, such as events based upon Spring Break, Fourth of July, harvest days, or Fall Fests. Preparatory and closing activities. Our season has a time to prepare (train, orient, and set up for the first event) and a time to close (to clean, dismantle, and prepare to move equipment to storage). This is analogous to a farmer seasonally preparing planting equipment and later winterizing it. 2.2. Recurring season. The seasonal patterns undergirding our business operations are recurring and predictable. As is standard industry practice, our business is generally based upon working the same fairs, carnivals, and festivals each year. The work offered is seasonal and the events are for specific periods of time only. Each of our events has its own mini-season. This seasonal cycle is just as recurring as another weather-dependent industry: farmers planting crops in the spring and harvesting in the fall. If anything, our season is even more predictable because it is tied to contractual commitments, not variable weather. The industry could not function if events were unpredictable. Our contracts and itinerary substantiate our seasonal need. Our route varies very little from year to year because, in the industry, it is common to have multi-year contracts. The exact event dates may change slightly because they are anchored by a holiday, the day of the week, or the number of weekends in a month, not specific calendar dates. 2.3. Planned cessation of operations. As a complement to our predictable operations, we have specified when H-2B labor is not needed by designating our period of need. We have no contracts during the off-season. At the end of the season, we have no work for our workers because we do not have any contracts for events. This period of time is not considered a lay-off or vacation. 2.4. Documentary evidence of seasonal need. As documentary evidence of our temporary need, we have attached: 2.4.1. This statement of temporary need and reasoning. I have been in this business my entire life. Part of the basis for our request is our own business judgment and experience. We know our business and what is necessary to survive and prosper, and we are prepared to back up our claim by incurring