Farm Laborer - Vineyard Worker

Job description

Commodity: Wine Grapes

Vineyard Husbandry; including general vineyard labor, harvest, pruning, suckering, irrigation, canopy manipulation, etc.

Ag Equipment Operators (tractor drivers): This job will require working in the vineyard operating farm equipment, discing, land lasering, leveling, planting, irrigating, and harvesting of grapes. Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions. Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery. Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions. Inspect equipment or facilities to determine condition or maintenance needs.

Row boss: Worker is responsible for vineyard row quality and row cleanliness. The row boss ensures that the workers are doing their exercises, washing their hands and carrying out their work. They fill out documentation for Food Safety, Production and Quality Control, etc. Over the course of the day they do quality control reviews and constantly check that the workers are using the equipment properly.

CalVans Driver: It may be possible for workers to become drivers during the contract period. CalVan drivers may be H-2A or corresponding domestic workers. The employer assures that employees who drive the CalVans are compensated for their time driving. CalVan drivers perform MSPA and related paperwork (i.e., logging) as required by law which they are compensated for. The CalVan driving job duty is not a different job and the drivers perform harvesting job duties when not driving (driving equals approximately 10% of time) . Drivers pick up workers from the housing sites/pick up points and drop them off at the worksite. At the end of the workday, the CalVan driver takes the workers back to the housing sites/pick up points. Drivers are also responsible, during the workday, for filling the vehicle with gasoline and keeping it clean. The employer assures that drivers are paid the AEWR for actual driving time, processing CalVans paperwork, trips to the gas station, and cleaning the vehicle. Workers selected to be a driver (if any) must possess the appropriate drivers license, meet all driver requirements, and be approved by CalVans prior to being assigned to this position. Employer will cover all costs associated with obtaining the drivers license and FLCE. Driving the CalVan is on a voluntary basis and is not a pre-hire job requirement and will not be terminated for failure to obtain a DL or FLCE certificate.

Workers may occasionally and/or sporadically perform duties associated with and directly related to the primary duties. Such work will be temporary and unsubstantial agricultural labor.

Special Requirements

Requirements: 1 month of vineyard experience. Cannot be color blind due to the need to distinguish colors of crops for proper ripeness and maturity, able to use shears, clippers and other agricultural tools, no smoking, illegal drugs, alcohol, or weapons of any sort in the housing or work fields. Ability to communicate in English or Spanish is required for training and safety purposes. Work is performed outdoors in open fields and can involve exposure to sun, wind, mud, dust, heat, cold and other elements of the normal field environment. Temperatures can range from 20 degrees F to over 100 degrees F during the period of employment. Workers should come prepared with appropriate clothing and footwear for the work and working conditions described. Employees must have 1 month of wine grape vineyard experience conducting any of the following duties: pruning, suckering, harvesting, etc.