Field Workers

Job description

Field Worker- Strawberries/Raspberry/Blackberry Harvest

All work is performed in the field and on the farm.

Pick, sort and package in fields on the farm. Workers will walk in 13-inch dirt rows and bend over picking Strawberries, Raspberry and Blackberry behind a picking cart. Use hand tools, till soil. Transplant, occasionally weed by hand, thin, and prune crops. Weeding by hand is occasional (approximately 15% of weekly work time and less than 20% of weekly work time). Employer complies with the California health and safety rules applicable to hand weeding.

Workers may occasionally and/or sporadically perform duties associated with and directly related to field work, including but not limited to packing Strawberries, Raspberry and Blackberry, closing/stacking boxes in and around the field on the farm, and clean-up functions in and around the field on the farm. Such work will be temporary and insubstantial agricultural labor.

Workers will accompany crops to first point of retail (i.e., farmers market) and load and unload crop commodities. Workers will not drive transport vehicles.

Driver-

1. Driver may drive on the farm and over the road in company vehicles to deliver crops to market. Driving job duty is not a different job and the drivers perform harvesting job duties when not driving. This activity is secondary agriculture under the Fair Labor Standards Act as it is in conjunction with and incidental to Rodriguez Farm’s farming operations.
2. Driver will be responsible for filling vehicles with fuel and keeping vehicles clean.
3. Driver will be required to complete and process periodic driving reports as required by state laws.
4. Driver will be required to follow all traffic laws and if applicable, vanpool rules.
5. In order to drive, drivers must possess a valid authorized driver’s license
6. Drivers are compensated for these activities.
7. All employees engaged in driving activities (H-2A as well as corresponding domestic workers), will be given the opportunity to obtain a driver’s license on a voluntary basis. The employer will be responsible for the costs associated with obtaining a California Driver’s License. The DL is not a pre-hire job requirement. No job applicant will be denied an employment opportunity due to a lack of a DL at the time of application and/or hiring. Further, no worker (H-2A or corresponding domestic worker) will be terminated for failure to obtain a DL.

Special Requirements

1-month experience harvesting in any of the commodities for this job order. Written verification of experience is required. Cannot be color blind due to the need to distinguish colors of crops, must be able to use both hands, able to use shears and other agricultural tools, no smoking, illegal drugs, alcohol, or weapons of any sort in the dormitories or work fields. Workers must be able to communicate in English or Spanish 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 20 degrees F to over 100 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.