Farmworkers And Laborers
Employer
B & W Quality Growers, LLC
2950 Winchester Highway
Elora, TN 37328
United States
Job description
Loose Watercress Harvest: Watercress is grown in a “bed” which is a growing area surrounded by low banks and with water about ¾ inches deep flowing through it. Worker will be issued a set of waterproof rubber boots, Kevlar mesh gloves, a plastic apron and a harvesting knife. Worker is responsible for keeping their knife sharp. Prior to entering the bed, the worker must wash and sanitize their hands for food safety reasons. Worker enters the bed with their knife, either a cardboard carton or a plastic harvest tote and a shallow plastic tray to keep water out of the harvest carton or tote and moves to an area of uncut watercress. Worker bends down and gathers a hand-full of watercress with one hand and cuts through the stems with the knife in their other hand. Individual stems must be between 2.0 and 4.0 inches in length unless specified differently for a special order. The cut watercress is then placed in the harvest carton or tote and the worker begins to cut the next handful of watercress. The cutter must pull any weeds and cut any watercress that was not harvested to leave uniform stubble in the bed after harvest. When the cutter has 30 pounds of cress, which will fill the carton or tote, they will bring the carton or tote to scale for weighing. The worker deposits their wooden stick, (“paint stirrer”) pre-numbered with their cutter number to identify it as having been cut by them, in a receptacle used for keeping track of the number of totes cut by each cutter. If the product is being loaded into a cardboard carton, then the worker must close the flaps of the carton. If the weight of the carton is less than 30 pounds, the cutter may be asked to return to the bed and complete the weight. The completed tote or carton is then loaded onto the harvest truck. The cutter will place an electronic probe against their employee badge at the counting station to confirm the number of cartons or totes cut by them. The cutter will then take another empty carton or tote and return to cut another tote. As harvest of an area is completed, the cutters in the cutting crew are responsible for cleaning out any remaining watercress or weeds from the edges of the bed that might interfere with the free flow of water. At all times, the worker is responsible for following directions from the cutting supervisor to ensure uniform, high-quality product.
Special Requirements
Criminal background check and drug testing: B & W Quality Growers may conduct criminal background checks at the employer's expense on all new applicants post-employment. Failure to pass criminal background check and/or drug screening is grounds for termination.
Criminal Background Checks - Due to communal living arrangements where workers entitled to free housing will reside in close proximity to one another with limited residential supervision, and due to food safety considerations, the employer will conduct criminal background checks on all hired applicants in order to minimize the occurrence of crimes among residents. In relation to the food safety considerations, and the fact that the workers are utilizing a harvesting knife to cut produce in water about inches deep, the employer will conduct random drug testing post-employment and at the employers expense.