Farmworkers And Laborers, Crop

Job description

Workers will perform assigned duties as instructed by their supervisor to harvest blueberries and blackberries and maintain field integrity. During harvest, workers will walk down field rows and manually pick fruit by hand, utilizing a one-gallon canvas picking bucket supported by a shoulder strap. Workers will carefully remove fruit from the plants and place them into the bucket, taking specific care not to break limbs, damage the plants, or knock fruit to the ground. Once the picking bucket is full, the worker will carry it to the field truck at the end of the row and unload the fruit into a small tub or container.
In addition to harvesting, workers will perform various field maintenance tasks including tying, staking, and pruning plants to ensure proper growth. Maintenance duties also involve cleaning micro-jets, removing plastic drip lines, and using hands or a hoe to remove dead plants and weeds from the production areas. All general labor—including pulling weeds, hoeing, and moving irrigation pipes—will be performed under constant supervision to ensure tasks are completed according to farm safety and food hygiene standards. Workers are required to report to the supervisor upon completion of an assigned area before moving to the next location and must return all hand tools and containers to the designated shed area at the end of each work day.

The worker must be able to work outside for at least 7 hours a day in all kinds of weather (including heat, cold, and light rain) and be in possession of the requisite physical strength and endurance to work quickly and skillfully with their hands repeatedly at a sustained pace to meet the production standards demonstrated by the supervisor. The employer will provide all necessary tools and equipment at no charge to the worker. However, the employer may deduct the reasonable cost of damages or replacement of such tools if the loss or repair results from the worker's willful neglect or gross negligence; such deductions will only occur after the damage has taken place and after obtaining the employee's written authorization. At its sole discretion, the employer may pay a higher wage rate than the stated AEWR to any worker based on individual performance, specialized experience, or tenure with the operation. This voluntary higher pay is intended to reward performance and does not alter the fundamental entry-level nature of the job requirements.

Employees may volunteer to work additional hours when work is available. While available hours may occasionally exceed the hours offered, such additional hours are not guaranteed. Workers are not required to work beyond the daily or weekly hours stated in the contract, nor on a worker’s Sabbath or federal holidays. Workers should expect occasional periods of little or no work due to weather, crop maturity, or other conditions beyond the employer’s control. These periods may occur at any time throughout the season. If a worker requests a leave of absence during the contract period while work is available, the hours missed during that leave will be deducted from hours worked but still counted toward the total hours offered under the ETA-790 for purposes of meeting 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.