Farmworkers And Laborers, Crop

Job description

Workers will perform assigned duties as instructed by their supervisor,
Apples Harvesting: Harvesting apples by hand under supervisor’s instructions, the worker will place a picking sack over the workers’ shoulder and carry an 18’ to 20’ ladder from the field truck to the particular area of the orchard to be harvested. The picking sack is a canvas and metal bag equipped with a shoulder strap for support, an opening for the insertion of fruit, and an opening to remove fruit. A full loaded sack weighs between approximately 35 to 40 pounds, depending upon the size, condition and variety of fruit. Worker positions ladder against the tree and within reach of the fruit in a leaning position, taking care not to break limbs, damage the tree, knock off fruit or interfere with other workers, in a secure position to prevent slipping or falling and possible injury to themselves or other workers. Worker will remove fruit from the tree and place into picking sack taking care to not bruise the fruit and to leave the stems attached to the apples. When pick sack is full take full sack to fruit bin and carefully dump. All fruit will be fresh fruit and must be bruise free.

Orchard Maintenance.
Worker will climb up and down a ladder, pruning trees using an 8-foot tree pole pruner. Portion of the branch left should be about 0.25-inch-long and just above the branch collar to allow the cut to callus over quicker. Hand pruners and loppers will also be provided for smaller branches. Remove any dead or broken branches, suckers and water sprouts. Remove branches that form too narrow an angle to be corrected with a limb spreader. Also, eliminate spurs or branches that grow downward. Workers must be able handle ladders which are 12 foot in length and weigh up to 40 lbs. Workers will stack tree limbs in designated area, shovel soil, apply fertilizer, pick up rocks, pull weeds, repair irrigation, and must be able to lift and carry up to 50 lbs. Workers must be able to perform manual and mechanized pruning activities with accuracy and efficiency. Stand on their feet for long periods of time, work requires repetitive movements and extensive walking. Workers will be required to keep all property and housing clean.
**Workers who qualify may occasionally operate tractors inside the farm**

The worker in order to perform this kind of work must be able to work outside for at least 6 hours a day in all kinds of weather and be in a possession of the requisite physical strength and endurance, working quickly and skillfully with their hands repeatedly, The employer will provides the tools necessary (if applicable) to perform the described job duties without charge to the worker. Employer may deduct the reasonable cost of damages and/or replacement of tools and/or equipment if such repair or replacement results from willful neglect or gross negligence after the damage has occurred and after gaining the employee's written authorization to make the deduction.

Employees may volunteer to work additional hours when work is available, the worker is not required to work more than the stated daily hours in the contract and/or on a worker's Sabbath or federal holidays Workers should expect occasional periods of little or no work because of weather, crop or other conditions beyond the employer’s control. These periods can occur any time throughout the season. If workers request a leave of absence during the contract period, if the worker has been offered an opportunity to work, the hours will be deducted from the hours offered under the ETA-790 for the purposes of the three-quarter guarantee.

Special Requirements

This type of work, involves working conditions that require tremendous stamina, a high level of physical activity in cold or extremely hot conditions in direct sunlight and in adverse weather such as rain. The work requires a high level of physical conditioning.