Job Duties:
Workers will perform assign duties as instructed by their supervisor, Harvesting and Field Operations (Primary Duties) Workers will perform manual labor to harvest watermelons by walking through field rows, identifying ripe fruit, and using a small knife to hand-cut watermelons from the vine. After cutting, workers will turn the watermelons to prepare them for loading. Working in coordinated teams, workers will bend, lift, and handle watermelons weighing between 20 and 60 pounds. Workers will transfer harvested watermelons through a coordinated “pitching” or hand-to-hand tossing process until the fruit reaches a teammate positioned inside a transport vehicle (bus or trailer), where watermelons will be carefully stacked for transport. On-Farm Packing House Operations (Primary Duties) Once transport vehicles are full, they will be moved to the on-farm packing house, which is located on the employer’s property and processes more than 50 percent of the employer’s own crop. Workers will manually unload watermelons from transport vehicles and place them onto conveyor belts for movement into the facility. Inside the packing house, workers will sort watermelons by size, apply labels, and pack the fruit into bins or containers for final shipment. Note: The packing house is located inside the Farm and more than 50% of the product processed is produced by the Fixed Site Employer. Incidental Tasks and Maintenance (Secondary) During periods of inclement weather or reduced harvest activity, workers will perform general clean-up and incidental maintenance on work site property, farm structures, irrigation lines, and worker housing. Duties include clearing debris, weeds, and vines; removing plastic mulch or ground covers; and the sprouting, pruning, or painting of trees. Workers may perform incidental mowing of grass around production areas and general cleaning or minor, incidental repairs to farm structures and equipment utilized in the operation. All such tasks are secondary to primary crop activities and do not require specialized experience. Workers must be able to perform strenuous manual labor outdoors in all weather conditions, including heat, cold, and rain, for a minimum of six (6) hours per day. The position requires physical strength and endurance to bend, stoop, and stand for extended periods, as well as manual dexterity to repetitively use hands at a sustained pace to meet production standards. This is a fundamental entry-level position; the employer will provide on-the-job training and all necessary tools and equipment at no charge to the worker. Consistent with applicable law, the employer may recover the reasonable cost of repair or replacement of tools if damage results from the worker’s willful misconduct or gross negligence, following written authorization. At its sole discretion, the employer may pay a higher wage rate based on individual performance or tenure, which does not alter the entry-level requirements of this position. 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.