Farmworkers & Laborers, Crops

Job description

Blueberry worker: Plant and prune field-grown blueberry plants. Perform manual labor on a mechanical blueberry harvester, pack blueberries, hoeing, shoveling, and picking up roots. Machine harvester workers must handle and sort berries on machine. Grade, sort, or classify berries by size, weight, color, or condition. Planting, frost-protection irrigation, and post-harvest field clean up. May prune and remove debris/brush. May cut limbs, pile sticks, pickup roots, and burn debris. THIS JOB DOES NOT INCLUDE HAND-HARVESTING BLUEBERRIES. May operate and perform minor maintenance and repairs on farm vehicles, implements and equipment. May repair fences, farm buildings and other structures. Perform farm, field and shed sanitation duties. Mow grass and operate trimmer around farm buildings. Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting. Operate farm vehicles to haul crops and drive other farmworkers from place to place around the farm properties (including on public roads to reach farmer’s fields) during the workday. May operate truck with GVWR of less than 13 tons to deliver crops produced on the farm (in its unmanufactured state) to storage or to market or to a carrier for transportation to market. Though not a hiring requirement, if a worker drives a company vehicle during the period of employment then at the time of operating the company vehicle the driver must possess a valid driver’s license issued by a U.S. state or foreign equivalent and operate the company vehicle in accordance with the license restrictions and vehicle classifications applicable to that license. All workers are required to follow common sanitary practices at all times. This is particularly important when touching crops for human consumption. Workers are required to cleanse their hands by washing thoroughly with soap and water before entering field for harvest activities and after each break. Smoking and the use of tobacco products prohibited during working time. Workers are expected to perform any of the listed duties and work on any crop as assigned by the employer and/or worker’s supervisor.

Packing shed duties include dumping berries on packing line, picking out bad fruit, placing packaged berry containers in boxes, stacking and palletizing boxed fruit, making boxes by hand or with box maker. May operate fork lift or electric pallet jack.

Pay station duties include operating box truck, operating scanners to scan field worker badges, dumping picked berries from buckets to lugs, weighing berries, handing field worker receipt from scanner, palletizing lugs, and transporting berries from field to packing shed.

Special Requirements

Prolonged walking, standing, bending, stooping, and reaching. Job is outdoors and continues in all types of weather. Workers may be requested to submit to random drug or alcohol tests at no cost to the worker. Failure to comply with the request or testing positive may result in immediate termination. All testing will occur post-hire and is not a part of the interview process. Negative result may be required post-hire and before commencing work. Must be able to lift and carry 75 lbs. repetitively throughout the workday. Must not hinder another workers productivity. Use of personal cell phone or other personal electronic device during working hours strictly prohibited except for work-related calls or emergencies and violation may result in immediate termination. Requires one month verifiable prior work experience machine harvesting blueberries. Must commit to work the entire contract period. Workers are expected to perform any of the listed duties and work on any crop