Utility Tree Trimmer

Work description

DETAILED STATEMENT OF TEMPORARY NEED 20262027 Dates of Need for H-2B Utility Tree Trimmers will be 11/05/2026 to 04/15/2027. HWY 31 Utilities + Excavation, LLC is a family-owned and operated utility-services contractor providing utility line clearance, tree trimming, and right-of-way maintenance services in East Texas. Our place of business is located at 17898 State Hwy 31 E, Brownsboro, Texas 75756, and our crews perform work in Henderson, Smith, Van Zandt, Anderson, and Cherokee Counties, Texas. We maintain an exclusive Master Services Agreement with Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC, the primary electric utility serving our region, under which we are on call to perform emergency tree cutting and right-of-way clearing when windstorms and winter ice storms damage or threaten Oncors electric infrastructure. To meet these contractual obligations, we cut, trim, and prune trees, limbs, and brush encroaching upon high-voltage power lines and utility rights-of-way, and we clear fallen trees, storm debris, ice-laden branches, and obstructions from roads, access points, and utility easements so that the areas we service are made safe and Oncors technicians can reach and repair electrical equipment. This work surges from November through mid-April, coinciding with the regions winter storm season, when ice storms and high winds cause the greatest damage to electric infrastructure and create the heaviest emergency-response demand under our Oncor contract. Our company began operations in 2017 under the name Oviedos Utilities. In 2024, the company formally incorporated as HWY 31 Utilities + Excavation, LLC. All of the owners, equipment, and type of work performed stayed the same. We have been in business since 2017, and our date of need for H-2B workers aligns with the regularly recurring annual business cycle customary to the utility line-clearance industry in our geographic area. Temporary Need To assist in the determination of whether our companys need is consistent with the USCIS definition of temporary need, we are including the following information: Work Duties will be consistent with those stated on the USDOL ETA Form 9142B and the USCIS I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker. These duties are evidenced in our current contracts, including our Master Services Agreement with Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC, which has been amended to extend its term through and including July 27, 2027, ensuring continuity of work throughout the requested period of need. Duties requested workers would be performing are consistent with those described in the US Department of Labor ETA Form 9141 Prevailing Wage Determination SOC 37-3013 for Tree Trimmers and Pruners. Based on the careful analysis described later in this document, our need for 8 temporary H-2B workers is fully supported by our companys projected workload for the 20262027 winter season, and our workload analysis substantiates the need for the requested workers throughout the entire period of proposed employment, i.e., 11/05/2026 through 04/15/2027, at the stated hourly wage and number of hours each week. Operations Our company operates year-round. Our permanent crews perform utility line clearance, right-of-way maintenance, and emergency response under our Oncor agreement in every month of the year, and during the off-season months our permanent staff is sufficient to meet all of this demand. Emergency service calls do occur in the off-season, but they are infrequent, and our permanent workforce handles them in the ordinary course alongside routine line-clearance work. That changes in November. As trees enter dormancy, our scheduled line-clearance work under the Oncor contract intensifies: cutting, trimming, and pruning trees, limbs, and brush encroaching upon high-voltage power lines and utility rights-of-way to maintain grid integrity ahead of the winter storm season. At the same time, the region begins to experience recurring ice storm