Crew Leaders And Drivers

Job description

Crew Leaders (Wine Grapes) Under the direction of the First-Line Supervisor:
• Assign duties, such as cultivation, irrigation, or harvesting of crops or plants, product grading, or equipment maintenance.
• Train workers in techniques such as planting, harvesting, weeding (long handled hoe or shovel), or insect identification and in the use of safety measures.
• Confer with managers to evaluate weather or soil conditions, to develop plans or procedures, or to discuss issues such as changes in fertilizers, or cultivating techniques.
• Inspect crops, fields, or plant stock to determine conditions and need for cultivating, weeding, or harvesting.
• Move water and shade
• Review employees' work to evaluate quality and quantity.
• Recording time sheets, record keeping and data collection.
• Communicate worker performance to Supervisors and Management.

The Crew Leader will supervise the following activities:
Vineyard Work
• Pruning by hand – removal of unwanted wood from vine.
• Suckering by hand – removal of any extra unwanted shoots on cordons/canes, trunks, removal of any short canes and shoots from the cordon/cane
• Erosion control by hand – install fiber roll, straw mulch, silt fence, water bars
• Replant grapevines by hand in existing vineyards
• Training young vines by hand to stake and onto the fruit wire
• Canopy management by hand – moving wires to position shoots within the trellis system to maintain a vertical growing grapevine
• Leafing and lateral removal by hand – removing leaves from the fruit zone during the growing season; removing lateral growth from the canes within the fruit zone and growing canopy
• Installation and repair of trellis by hand, wires, stakes, hoses and drip emitters in existing vineyards and new developing.
• Pest Control by hand (growth tubes, milk cartons, netting) – install growth tubes and or cartons around young vines to protect plants from feeding animals and to promote good vine growth; install bird netting over the vineyards fruit zone to protect fruit from feeding birds
• Weed control by hand – using mechanical string trimmer for weed abatement and or a shovel (long-handled) to cut weeds from under the vines and for weed control around slopes of vineyards and along adjacent roads
• Crop thinning by hand – removal of clusters during specific times of year to enhance fruit quality
• Harvesting grapes by hand

All hand-related harvesting will be in accordance with California law.
• Tractor mowing, disking, leafing, hedging, spraying, and small repair work: Set up and operate a tractor with mowing, disking, leafing, hedging, or spraying implements. Also complete small repair work on tractor as needed.
• Tractor harvest: Set up and operate a tractor for harvest
• ATV Irrigation: Use an ATV to turn on and off irrigation valves and fix leaks to the irrigation system.
• Hand Vineyard Maintenance: Ranch clean up
• Vineyard Development: Land preparation, trellis installation, irrigation installation, vine planting, vine training. May need to use tractors.

Special Requirements

One month vineyard work experience. Workers must be able to lift 50 lbs frequently. No smoking, drinking alcohol, or illegal weapons or controlled substances in the fields or in housing. Able to stoop, bend, and work in cold and wet conditions. Able to use tools such as pruning shears, grape knives, hand saws, weed eaters, hedgers, shovels. Safety use and training provided by employer. Workers must abide by Employer housing rules. Ability to communicate in English or Spanish is required for training and safety purposes. (i.e. Workers must listen to, understand and follow instructions of Employer crew leaders, supervisors and managers.)