Field Workers Strawberry Ground Harvester (rbi #2)

Job description

Employee picks strawberries in varying weather conditions, while adhering to quality and standards determined by Company, using physical body motions, including picking fruit, pushing carts and carrying cardboard crates (organic or conventional) weighing up to 10-13 lbs. and plastic crates (freezer and juice) weighing up to 22 lbs when full.

Employees will be required to harvest strawberries using the Harvest Aid. The employee harvests by walking behind the harvest aid as the harvest aid moves across the row from one end to the other. When the employee completes a crate, he/she places the full crate on a platform on the harvest aid and begins anew.

Employees will be required to perform the responsibilities of Strawberry Ground crew. The employee will harvest by walking in the furrow from the middle of the block towards the road where the harvest trailer is located. Once the worker completes the full box of strawberries, he/she will walk to the harvest trailer to place the harvested box on the table for quality inspection and will take an empty box to repeat the process.

When harvesting juice or freezer, the employee will be required to perform this manually or in the case of freezer, it may require the use of a blade to remove berry from the plant.

When working with the harvest aid, the employee is required to work as part of a team of harvesters and team members must coordinate with each other to complete the harvest process each day. Harvest ground crews work individually. The aid harvest team is able to control the speed at which the harvest aid moves across the field. Employee will be responsible for ensuring the quality of the harvested strawberries meets quality and inspection requirements.

Work Schedule

Workers will work 6:30 A.M. - 1:30 P.M., Monday through Saturday, 6.5 hours per day, for a total of 39 hours. Working hours will be 6:30 am to 1:30 pm, or 7:30 am to 2:30 pm but may start later or earlier depending on the time of year. Workers may be requested to work on Sundays or Federal Holidays depending on the conditions of the fields, weather, and maturity of the crop. Overtime may be requested. However, Employer does not require overtime or work on Sundays or Federal Holidays. The Employer abides by California Wage Order 14.

This is regular, full-time work for a temporary period of time requiring the worker to be available for work on a daily basis. This is not “day work”. Excessive tardiness and/or absences will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary action in accordance to company policies.

The working hours will be 6:30 am to 1:30 PM, or 7:30 am to 2:30 PM from Monday to Friday, or 7:30 am to 1:00 pm Saturday but may start later depending on the time of year, hours of daylight, weather and production requirements. An unpaid lunch break of 30 minutes and two paid 10-minute work breaks are provided. On workdays of less than 5 hours no lunch break will be provided. Workers are notified of any change in the start time.

All employees not occupying employer-provided housing must provide the Company with contact information before the worker commences employment. This contact information may be used to notify the workers not to report work due to inclement weather or when work is not available or to notify the workers of any change in the worker’s daily schedule, or for any other reason.

Special Requirements

Three months of experience in harvesting strawberries. Cannot be color blind due to the need to distinguish colors of crops for proper ripeness and maturity, 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 50 degrees F to over 90 degrees F during the period of employment. Workers should come prepared with appropriate clothing and footwear for the work and working conditions described.

See addendum C