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hedgehog

(36,286 posts)

38. OK, let's take that apart a little -

Tue Dec 11, 2012, 04:59 PM

Dec 2012

Six guys pick say 14 tons, so that's $4200. But half of that goes to the "vineyard management company" , whatever the hell that is. Sounds to me like a 50% kickback of each worker's wages to some jobber.

So that leaves , $2100

Split 6 ways - $350.

Say it takes a week to complete the harvest - $2450 for a week's pay.

How many hours is that? I'm guessing 7 - 12 hour days of back breaking labor.

It comes with full dental and medical, right?

It comes with a 401K, right?

BTW, what are those workers earning at your vineyard next month? $2450 sounds like a lot, but when it's the last big pay check for the next three or four or six months........

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Valley hit by worker shortage plaguing rest of U.S. [View all] AlphaCentauri Dec 2012 OP

Raise wages. Problem solved. NT Trillo Dec 2012 #1

Simple Roy Rolling Dec 2012 #2

Not if there are no takers. DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #5

Did the growers raise the wage they were offering???? If not, then I don't coalition_unwilling Dec 2012 #6

See my reply #12, below DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #13

Only by 50% DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #46

Well there's the problem. 'Reasonably' increased wages. denverbill Dec 2012 #9

We pay per ton. DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #12

How can Europe do it? Clouseau2 Dec 2012 #15

I'll get back to you on that DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #19

See my #17. nt jody Dec 2012 #23

Just a thought, don't buy the wine if you can't afford to upaloopa Dec 2012 #31

A good picker can make a couple of hundred dollars a day. nt DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #34

How many days a year is that upaloopa Dec 2012 #41

Your link reminds me dipsydoodle Dec 2012 #57

Why are there so many people growing grapes? upaloopa Dec 2012 #29

Because wine consumption is through the roof. DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #36

really, they should all be growing pot. olddad56 Dec 2012 #37

How much more are you willing to pay for food? Agnosticsherbet Dec 2012 #16

How do you deal with the seasonal nature of planting, cultivating, and harvesting? nt jody Dec 2012 #24

Excellent point primavera Dec 2012 #58

Exactly. nt jody Dec 2012 #60

Historically there was a pool of low wage migrant labor that followed the seasons. Agnosticsherbet Dec 2012 #66

I have heard this crap before. The cost to pay a reasonable wage to harvest is less that Vincardog Dec 2012 #28

Kind of depends upon what one considers reasonable, doesn't it? primavera Dec 2012 #62

You are talking about several million workers. Agnosticsherbet Dec 2012 #67

I will gladly pay the extra 2% that doubling ag workers pay would add to my food bill. Your Vincardog Dec 2012 #71

Your belief that only 2% increase will accrue... Agnosticsherbet Dec 2012 #72

One of us seems to be defending the status quo. I like the way you put words in my mouth Vincardog Dec 2012 #73

Not true. The biggest factor in food prices is the overhead of non-productive corporate Egalitarian Thug Dec 2012 #63

But the cost will be passed to you and me. Agnosticsherbet Dec 2012 #68

Does the state pay for the healthcare, etc. for farm workers or do JDPriestly Dec 2012 #3

The burden is pushed onto the counties. I work for Santa Barbara County upaloopa Dec 2012 #35

Low wages are not the problem, it's hard physical labor and sometimes being paid by the unit. Those jody Dec 2012 #4

They are looking for permission to abuse people. justice1 Dec 2012 #7

And how many of these farmers need cheap labor because they are working for agri-corporations that kelliekat44 Dec 2012 #18

My home area is agricultural. The big crops are asparagus, cherries and apples. amandabeech Dec 2012 #47

Tomatoes at $4 AND SOME close to five dollars a pound. julian09 Dec 2012 #8

Do co ops receive subsidies for the crops experiencing labor shortages? Except for tobacco which is jody Dec 2012 #11

Of course tomatoes are $4, it's December. LeftyMom Dec 2012 #22

Bananas are cheap about .59c to .80c a pound and come from much further away and tropical climates. julian09 Dec 2012 #39

Tomato juice and spaghetti sauce are cheap because they're canned when tomatoes are naturally ripe, LeftyMom Dec 2012 #43

Who wants to be a migrant? TwilightGardener Dec 2012 #10

California Farm Bureau Federation, what is this important sounding agency? olddad56 Dec 2012 #14

The Farm Bureau, founded in 1911 to off set the much more progressive Grange happyslug Dec 2012 #56

Posts to this thread show little to no understanding of the problems facing agriculture both jody Dec 2012 #17

Despite what you might think, we do have everything from grapes to orchards here. justice1 Dec 2012 #20

I'm not sure "teenagers to harvest the fields on the weekends" is a viable option for some crops. nt jody Dec 2012 #21

It would allow their workforce to have some time off, and my kids have done it without problems. justice1 Dec 2012 #40

Teenagers in vineyards? Recipe for disaster. DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #26

So, what's the going rate for a skilled grape harvester? hedgehog Dec 2012 #30

We were offering $300/ton, up from $200 last Harvest DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #32

OK, let's take that apart a little - hedgehog Dec 2012 #38

I'll try to explain... DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #44

"In years past, they made enough to support their families in Mexico until the next harvest" hedgehog Dec 2012 #49

That's just what they do DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #50

It's the Real World, but people need to understand where cheap food comes from. hedgehog Dec 2012 #51

The dairy farmers are getting hosed DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #53

I'm in Upstate New York, near Lake Ontario. hedgehog Dec 2012 #54

Heh, we are in Ryebrook (near White Plains) for a few days. DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #55

So there are six guys picking. Are there six guys and gals at the management company? Trillo Dec 2012 #65

I don't know the number DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #69

Nail on the head DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #27

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said farmings “becoming less and less relevant”. His statement is jody Dec 2012 #42

No shit? DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #45

I worked my way through college picking flowers in Florida fasttense Dec 2012 #25

You cannot compare Florida Sekhmets Daughter Dec 2012 #33

In the '50s and '60s in my home area, you'd see lots of Mexican plates amandabeech Dec 2012 #48

Is this why tree nuts are running about $20/lb these days?? kestrel91316 Dec 2012 #52

American fruit and vegetable farmers are now in competition with foreign suppliers for the domestic hedgehog Dec 2012 #59

You've hinted at what has and is happening. Government subsidies (corporate welfare) has so Egalitarian Thug Dec 2012 #64

Russia is in the WTO now and a customer for almonds and other nuts. nt jody Dec 2012 #61

With tight borders they've lost that next generation to exploit for cheap labor ... Wernothelpless Dec 2012 #70