Vineyard Farmworker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
grapes.
Workers must be able to perform manual as well as mechanized activities with accuracy and efficiency. Performs a variety of tasks under supervision in vineyard/winery operation. Primary tasks are grape production and cultural activities, including planting and cultivating vines and harvesting grapes. Performs vineyard canopy management to permit light and air to circulate around grapevines, including thinning fruit and removing shoots and vines. Performs vineyard maintenance activities, such as weed control with mowers, hand rakes and chemicals. Sprays vines and fruit with herbicides, pesticides and fungicides. Installs and maintains vine trellises and ties vines to trellises. May load and unload trucks, install irrigation equipment and clean equipment. Assists in moving harvested fruit from field to processing area. May perform general indoor tasks or post-harvest activities (e.g., packing or moving products to storage at winery facility) when outdoor vineyard work is not available (all such activities will be performed incident to or in conjunction with vineyard operation).

Work may also include mechanized field work using power equipment. By way of example and not limitation power equipment may include tractors, planters, sprayers, cultivators and other equipment. Workers will be expected to be able to operate agricultural equipment with or without direction.

Work is to be done for long periods of time. Workers are expected to perform duties including boxing, weighing and loading of product. Workers will assist in loading trucks with packaged product weighing up to and including 70 pounds and lifting to a height of 5 feet for long periods of time. Workers should be able to work on their feet in bent positions for long periods of time. Work requires repetitive movements and extensive walking. Allergies to ragweed, goldenrod, insect spray, related chemicals, etc. may affect workers' ability to perform the job. Workers are exposed to wet weather early in the morning through the heat of the day, working in fields. Temperatures may range from 10 to 100 F. Workers may be required to work during occasional showers not severe enough to stop field operations. Workers should be physically able to do the work required with or without reasonable accommodations. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 70 lbs.

Employer assures that workers will be provided transportation from living quarters to work site every day (for workers who must be provided housing under the applicable regulations.)

The employer may discipline the worker, including brief suspension of work activities (“time out”) for a period determined by the supervisor, suspension from employment for a set period of days or termination of employment as described in the Work Rules.

Workers may not report for work while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Except for moderate alcohol consumption in company housing during non-working hours, the possession or use of illegal drugs or alcohol on Company property is prohibited and will be cause for termination.

While the employer does not require prospective applicants to take and pass a drug test prior to a hiring decision, the employer has a no-exceptions drug policy requiring newly-hired employees to take and pass an employer-paid drug test. Every new hire must undergo testing before starting work with the company. All testing is conducted uniformly after an initial job offer has been extended and accepted by the new hire. If an employee tests positive, he/she is immediately terminated and paid for all hours worked between the first date of employment and the date of termination, if any. In the case of a non-local or foreign worker who is terminated for failure to pass a drug test, the employer will arrange least-cost transportation to the worker's place of recruitment, at the worker's expense.

Special Requirements

Jobs offered are working in a vineyard handling both manual and machine tasks associated with commodity production and harvest activities. Workers must be able to perform manual as well as mechanized activities with accuracy and efficiency. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 70 lbs. Employer-paid post-hire drug testing is required.