FARMWORKERS AND LABORERS, X70, Toppenish, Wapato This is a job order encompasses raising, growing and harvesting apples, grapes and hops as well as pruning, training and other orchard and hop farm labor. This job opportunity is limited to qualified, available workers that are currently eligible to work in the United States, per federal regulation. Crops/Commodities: Hops, apples, gapes Job Duties Hop Job Requirements: Hop harvest is a 24/7 operation for approximately 40 days and nights. Night and day shifts will be offered. Work schedules may differ during this time and employees may be asked to work night shifts and may be offered, but not required to work on Sundays and federal holidays. Hop Vine Unloader/Hanger: Job consists of unloading hop trucks at a stationary picking machine. Hanging hop vines is physically demanding and requires the employee to grab, lift and place the ends of hop vines on hooks that transfer the vines from the truck beds to the picking apparatus. Hop Vine Truck Driver/Unloader: Job consists of driving the hop vine truck while loading and transport the harvesting machine. Once there, the driver will assist one of the Hop Vine Unloader/Hangers in unloading the truck by hand. All of the job requirements specific to the Hop Vine Unloader/Hangers job apply to the driver while performing this part of the job. Hop Vine Unloader/Hangers: - Hop vines will irritate/scratch exposed skin. Employee must bring and wear long sleeve shirts and gloves.
- Employee must wear provided eye protection.
- Employee may use a compressed air gun to quickly remove loose hop material from the truck beds after all vines have been unloaded so that the next full truck can enter the unloading stall.
Hop Truck Drivers/Unloaders: - Job specifications for Hop Vine Unloader/Hangers apply to this job as well since the driver is also responsible for unloading.
- Must have valid driver's license.
- Must have the ability to safely drive a standard transmission, in a vine hauling truck; to the field, in the field during loading, and transport those vines from the field to the harvesting facility, as well as assist in unloading.
- Must check, maintain, and add, if necessary, engine oil and coolant every day.
- Must check fuel level and when necessary, notify person in charge of re-fueling trucks.
Baling of Hops: - No loose clothing may be worn when working in the baling room.
- All machinery must be locked out, as described in the lockout - tag out procedure manual, before any repair, cleaning, or maintenance is performed.
- Must always know where co-workers are before starting any machinery.
- Must keep an orderly work place. Clean and return all tools and equipment to their proper place when finished with them.
- Must keep all guards and barriers in place at all times.
- If there is a problem with any of the equipment, must tell the supervisor.
- No food is allowed in the baling area.
- Must keep the sewing machines clean, maintained, and lubricated.
Additional Duties - Hops - Planting hop roots in new hop yards.
- Training hops - as the hops grow, wrap any vine that has not grabbed on to the twine.
- Weed baby hops.
- Hop trellis work - repair any hop trellis as needed.
- Pick up downed hop vines - when strong winds come along and blow mature hop plants off the vine, get the hops back up the trellis. Flush drip irrigation lines.
- Spread drip irrigation tubes
Workers may also: - Operate or maintain equipment used in agricultural production and field preparation such as tractors, irrigation equipment, 4-wheelers, trucks, and other commonly used equipment in agriculture.
- Operate tractors to mow, weed spray and move bin/tote trailers in the orchard and fields.
- Load and mix chemicals in addition to operating tractors pulling air blast sprayers. The Employer attests that workers who are applicators or handlers, including those who work on equipment that may have pesticide residue or contamination will be properly trained by their supervisor, who has a valid Private Applicators license which is the standard pursuant to Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA). Furthermore, their supervisor will be available to ensure that these workers understand all chemical label, safety instructions, and application instructions pursuant to WSDA. All other individuals who meet the guidelines as farmworkers and hand laborers will receive appropriate EPA Worker Protection Training, as defined by the WSDA and the EPA, at least once every 12 months according to regulation
- Install monitor, maintain and repair the irrigation system for a specified area of the orchard.
- Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
- Licensed drivers may drive vehicles to haul crops, supplies, tools. Under RCW 46.20.001 and RCW 46.20.025 this could be A driver who is sixteen years of age and has immediate possession of a valid driver's license issued to the driver by his or her home country or a licensed driver who holds a license with his or her home state. Insurable means the driver must not have a license that has been revoked or a license restricted by a court for a driving offense and that is valid under the above Washington State rules and be accepted by the employer's insurance carrier. Worker may never ride on agricultural equipment not designed for work related riding purposes or any other non-passenger intended equipment unless instructed and authorized by the employer or supervisor to do so.
Training: The worker will hand train young grape vines fruit trees on a motorized platform, from the ground and/ or utilizing a ladder. The worker will tie, tape or clip fruit tree limbs and grape vines to wires; position limbs of fruit trees and grape vines; shoot thin; remove suckers, thin clusters, position shoots, hedge or remove leaves. Pruning: The worker will hand prune trees and vines and on a motorized platform, from the ground and/ or utilizing a ladder. The worker will utilize hand shears, hand loppers, hand saws and other equipment. The worker may be required to selectively prune trees of certain size and color as instructed by their supervisor. The worker will identify and remove stubs, broken branches, downward growing branches, branches which rub against each other, shaded interior branches, dead wood, shoots and suckers with various equipment. Apple Harvest: The worker will hand harvest fruit on a motorized platform, from the ground and/ or utilizing a ladder. The worker will attach the harness, bucket or bag and pick low hanging fruit. The worker will pick according to grade, color and size by grasping fruit with their hands and removing it from the tree in a motion that will not harm buds on tree branches. The worker will carry the harness, bucket or bag of fruit and will place the fruit into bags or buckets. The worker must exercise care at all times to prevent bruising of fruit or breaking of branches. Some workers may be tasked with examining harvested fruit in bins and sort out any fruit not meeting the grade, color and size specifications. Grape Harvest: Workers will hand harvest grapes. Worker will harvest numerous varieties of grapes according to established company procedures accounting for difference in the treatment of different varieties. When asked by the supervisor worker will operate the grape harvesting machine. The fruit will be placed on either a plastic tub or stainless steel bin. Care must be exercised at all times to prevent bruising of fruit or breaking of branches. Some workers may be required to examine harvested fruit in bins and sort out any fruit not meeting the grade, color and size specifications. Additional Duties- Orchards: - Weeding, hoeing, trunk painting, hand fertilizing and growth selection by hand and clipping.
- General labor to assist in establishment of new orchard properties by clearing property, planting trees, building trellis, repair and spreading of composted material.
- Caring for trees during growing process.
- Monitoring tree disease such as blighted branches in apples.
- Harvest preparation including spreading liners in bins and rolling bins into blocks by hand.
- Repairing sprinklers on overhead cooling system.
- Loading and unloading empty bins by hand.
- Sorting fruit during harvest and verifying quality of fruit
- Farm clean up tasks to include picking up garbage around the orchard, removing old string/ wire from trellis/ orchard blocks and other tasks.
- Operating farm machinery and/ or motorized vehicles to assist in orchard work and transporting fruit, materials, supplies and workers.
- Maintenance tasks for farm machinery.
- Spraying fruit trees.
- Assisting ranch Manager and/or Foreman in daily duties
- Install/uninstall reflective mulch, material and shade cloth
- Bin repair
- Verify bin count and numbers and ensuring bins are adequately full
- Communicate with crew boss to ensure bins are full and fruit is handled appropriately
- Ranking and removal of orchard/vineyard brush and waste.
Workers may be asked to receive a COVD-19 vaccination and/or boosters, to protect other workers and the public. JOB REQUIREMENTS Must have at least three (3) months of general farm labor Employer-paid drug test is required if a worker has an accident at work. Must be able to work through extreme temperatures. Must be able to push/pull and stoop/bend repeatedly. Saturday work may be required Ability to lift/carry 60 lbs. HOURS/DAYS/SCHEDULE Contract period is February 1, 2024 to November 15, 2024 7 hours per day, Monday through Friday 5 hours Saturdays SALARY/WAGE/BENEFITS Wage offer $17.97/hour No work will be performed at less than the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) of $17.97 AEWR The payroll period is weekly. Harvest and other work may be paid at piece rates based on the fruit or vegetable variety, size and condition, tree size, crop volume, weather, and other industry factors. Piece rate pay compensates the employee for all hours of work recorded during a day in which piece rate work was performed. Work not paid at piece rates will be paid at a minimum of the hourly rate equal to the applicable adverse effect wage rate (the AEWR Rate). During the contract period, if a worker working at piece rate earns less in a pay period than the worker would have earned at the AEWR Rate for all hours worked in that pay period, the workers total earnings for that pay period will be increased to an amount calculated as the total hours worked multiplied by the AEWR Rate. Effective January 1, 2024, overtime pay will apply at 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. Piece Rates Pruning - Apple Tree $0.50-$5.00 per tree, pruning, depending on the size and variety of tree and maturity of orchard. The estimated hourly wage rate is $22.00/hour based on workers pruning from the low 4.4 trees per hour to 44 trees per hour depending on tree size and density. Guaranteed wage is $17.97/hr (AEWR). Harvest, Picking Apples- All Cultivations/Varieties $20.00-$30.00 Per Bin (47" x 47" x 24.5"). Estimated hourly wage rate equivalent for this piece rate is $18.48/hr. based on workers filling .88 bin/hour on average. Guaranteed $17.97/hr. Piece rate will vary based on variety, yield, density, size, fruit and market conditions. HOUSING The employer will provide housing at no cost for H-2A workers and those in corresponding employment who are not reasonably able to return to their residence within the same day in accordance with 20 CFR 655.122(d). Kitchen and other common facilities will be shared. TRANSPORTATION The Employer will offer transportation from housing to worksites for those eligible workers. MEALS The employer will furnish cooking facilities, utilities and utensils at no cost to workers occupying employer provided housing. Workers will purchase their own food and prepare meals. The employer will provide free transportation at least once a week for groceries, supplies, and/or banking services to workers living in employer provided housing. In the event kitchen facilities become unavailable during the contract period, employer will provide three daily meals in accordance with 20 CFR 655.122(g). In such circumstances, employer will deduct the cost of such meals up to the maximum allowable amount published in the Federal Register (currently $15.46 per day), or as otherwise approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. THREE-FOURTHS Employer agrees to offer the worker employment for a total number of work hours equal to at least three fourths of the workdays of the total period beginning with the first workday after the arrival of the worker at the place of employment or the advertised contractual first date of need, whichever is later, and ending on the expiration date specified in the work contract or in its extensions, if any. TOOLS Employer agrees to provide to the worker, without charge or deposit charge, all tools, supplies, and equipment required to perform the duties assigned. CLOSING DATE/DEADLINE Employer will accept referrals until June 25, 2024 HOW TO APPLY/REQUEST A REFERRAL This employer has asked WorkSource to refer only fully qualified applicants for this job. If you would like to request a referral, please contact any WorkSource office for detailed instructions on how to apply. Job ID: 266653150 WorkSource is an equal opportunity employer and provider of employment and training services. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to persons with disabilities. Washington Relay Services: 711 In view of the statutorily established basic function of the ES as a no-fee labor exchange, that is, as a forum for bringing together employers and job seekers, neither the ETA nor the SWAs are guarantors of the accuracy or truthfulness of information contained on job orders submitted by employers. Nor does any job order accepted or recruited upon by the ES constitute a contractual job offer to which the ETA or a SWA is in any way a party. Staff Special Instructions Please link to access the side by side checklist, Workers' rights trifold and a copy of the complete job order for inspection.
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