Farmworkers And Laborers

Job description

Packing House Labor- Watercress Line
Watercress and Arugula bunches or loose products are transported to the packing house on trucks. The product is unloaded, packed, and stored in the cooler by the packing house employees. Prior to work, all Packing House employees must wash and sanitize their hands for food safety reasons.

Dumping Tubs
Before the trucks arrive the dumper has to place the totes to collect the line debris and place them close to the packers for bad bunches discharged by the packers.
Fill in the washing and chilling tanks with water.
Once the truck arrives at the packing house, the Dumper has to check the produces quality and report to the manager if there is a problem.
After the line has started to run, the dumper removes the stick from the tote and slowly dumps the product into the washing tank.
Place the sticks on the counting box.
Loads the empty totes in pairs on the upper compartments of the truck.
Drives the truck out of the packing house to open space for the next truck.
Keeps the area clean and debris-free.
At the end of the operation helps to clean the packing house according to the established procedures.
Follows all supervisors instructions

Packing Bunches
The packers start their day separating waxed cartons and placing them in front of the packing stations.
The person running the line Switch (on/off) makes sure that all packers have enough product in front of them.
When the line stops, one packer should place more empty boxes on the line, others place more inserts and the other person swipes the floor.
Switch Packer leads the group to move from station to station.
Packer packs 24s in 8 rows of 3 bunches and pack 12s in 3 rows of 4 bunches according to procedures.
Once full, the Packer rakes the stems clean of leaves.
Carefully place the box on the conveyor.
Helps setting up boxes on the conveyor.
Sweeps the floor as needed.
Discharge bad bunches on the bad bunches tub.
Picks up and dispose of any boxes packaging straps.
Follows all supervisors instructions.

Packing Sleeves
Packers sleeve bunches one by one then they pack these into carton boxes.
These are packed 12 bunches per box.
Packer discard bunches with low quality
Keeps the area clean and free of debris
Follow all supervisors instructions

Icing the Boxes
Before starting to pack the Employee has to pull out ice closer to the conveyors.
Employee puts an equal and uniform amount of ice on each box up to the upper edge of the box.
Keeps ice close to the conveyors during slow times.
Ices two dozens at a time.
Makes sure that boxes do not fall from the conveyor and that the line is running.
Helps the employees stacking if the line is down.
At the end of the operation helps to clean the packing house according to the established procedures.
Follows all supervisors instructions

General Farm Labor
Hourly work may include different tasks of general farm labor such as leveling beds, pulling weeds, cleaning ditches, planting, managing algae control in the field and lab area, managing harvest totes during machine harvesting of watercress, arugulas, pea tendrils, and other crops, scouting for insects, tractor spraying, repairing PVC and irrigation lines, solid fertilization, regulating water, assuming harvest boxes, machine harvesting, and washing harvest totes, tractor riding, burning, mowing, scratching, loading/unloading plants, driving trucks with harvested produce or totes from the field to the packing house.
Instructions in proper procedures for each of these jobs will be provided in training.

Workers are responsible for following the recommendations of supervisors in performing their task

Special Requirements

Criminal background check and drug/alcohol testing: B & W Quality Growers may conduct criminal background checks and/or drug/alcohol testing at the employer's expense on all new applicants post-employment. Failure to pass a criminal background check and/or drug/alcohol screening is grounds for termination.