Farmworkers And Laborers

Job description

Workers will perform assigned duties as instructed by their supervisor. Duties may vary from time to time. Applicants must be 18 years or older. Following the Supervisors instructions, the worker will carry a ladder from the field truck to the particular area of the field to be harvested. Workers will perform duties associated with planting, growing, maintaining, pinching, setting down, spacing, and moving crops. The worker will position the ladder close to the tree within reach of the fruit, taking care not to break limbs, damage the tree, knock off fruit, or interfere with other workers, in a secure position to prevent slipping or falling, and possible injury to themselves or other workers. The worker will remove the fruit from the tree and place into the crate. When the crate is full the workers will take the full crate to the flatbed trailer located in the field and stack them on the trailer. In order to perform this kind of work, the workers must be able to work outside for at least 6 hours a day, in all kinds of weather, be in possession of the requisite physical strength, and endurance to repeat the picking process rapidly. The workers must work quickly and skillfully with their hands, and then carry the fruit from the area the fruit is being harvested to the location(s) of the crates. Proper work attire is required. Workers must wear long sleeve shirts, long pants, no shorts, hard sole shoes, preferably boots, and no tennis shoes.

Pruning/Trimming: The worker positions the ladder against the tree within reach of the fruit in a leaning position, taking care not to break limbs, damage the tree, knock off fruit, or interfere with other workers. Once the ladders is in a secure position to prevent slipping or falling and possible injury to themselves or other workers. The worker must possess or acquire pruning/trimming skills in order to identify and remove stubs or broken branches, downward-growing branches, branches that rub against each other, shaded interior branches, deadwood and shoots/suckers with hand pruning saws and clippers, mechanized equipment in pruning activities.

Stacker: The stacker is required to stand on top of; or on the side of, harvesting containers and receive full harvest crates that are handed to the stackers from the harvesting employees. Crate weights vary, based on commodity, but should not exceed 60 lbs. when filled with product and will be dumped into various types of harvesting containers. After the stacker receives and empties the contents into the appropriate container; stackers will return the empty containers to the designated area and continue the process.

Quality Checker: Supervisors will explain and demonstrate, the necessary picking requirements to all workers at the start of the season and as needed thereafter to ensure quality standards. Worker may be asked to check the quality, color, and texture of various crop ensuring that all crops are sufficiently removed. They will report issues to their supervisor.

Special Requirements

The employer may conduct a drug test post-hire at the employers expense upon reasonable suspicion after a worker has been involved in an accident while working. Successful applicants will be subject to a trial period of three to five days during which their performance of required task will be evaluated. If the performance during the trial period is not acceptable to the employer, the workers employment will be terminated. The employer generally uses a 3-step disciplinary process: (1)
verbal warning for first violation; (2) written warning for second violation; and (3) termination upon third violation. Certain violations are so severe that they
may result in termination without prior warning.