Job Duties:
Pick and weed in strawberry fields. Use hand tools (no short-handled hoes will be used), till soil, and apply fertilizers. Transplant, weed, thin, and prune crops. Weeding will be mostly by hand as weeds grow very close to the strawberry plants. All weeding work will follow Federal and California regulations, including compliance with short-handled hoe regulations. Workers will also perform duties associated with and directly related to field work, included but not limited to packing strawberries, closing/stacking boxes in and around the field, and clean up functions in and around the field. Such work will be temporary and unsubstantial. Tractor work may be required – tractors have gross weight capacity under 26,001 lbs and do not require a commercial driver license to operate. Daily individual work assignments will be made by, and at the sole discretion of, Employer as the need of the operation dictate. Employees must perform the assigned work and work at the assigned fieldwork site, and may not switch assignments without the specific authorization of a company supervisor. Employees may be re-assigned to a different field site at various times during the work day, and/or on different days. Since work is agricultural, hours of start and finish may vary. Driving: Drive company-owned vehicles over the road to transport workers to and from housing sites/pick up points and the worksite. Drivers will drive a minority of the work hours in this contract. (i.e. approximately 1-2 hours per day). At the end of the contract, drivers will have driven less than 50% of the total work hours, and thus, less than 50% of the total work days. Consequently, driving is not a primary job duty in this job order. All employees engaged in driving activities must possess a valid drivers’ license (state issued). All employees will be given the opportunity to obtain a driver’s license (DL) on a voluntary basis. 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 will be terminated for failure to obtain a DL. The employer will cover the cost of obtaining a driver’s license, if required. Additionally, the employer assures that drivers will be compensated for their transportation-related time, actual driving time, processing paperwork, trips to the gas station and cleaning the vehicle.
Special Requirements:
Requirements: 1 month of berry harvest experience. Cannot be color blind due to the need to distinguish colors of crops for proper ripeness and maturity, able to use shears, clippers and other agricultural tools, no smoking, illegal drugs, alcohol, or weapons of any sort in the housing or work fields. Ability to communicate in English or Spanish is required 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. Drug test will be post-hire and at the expense of the employer.