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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Cell Phones and Farming.

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  • From: Andy Fellenz <fellenz AT fltg.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Cell Phones and Farming.
  • Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:36:35 -0400

I just pay piece work for berry pickers and last year was at $.75/quart for good strawberries (the rate/basket is a little different for raspberries and blackberries, but the avg. hourly wage is equivalent). Pickers would get docked or let go for less than full or poor quality baskets. My average pickers were >$7.50/hour for a relatively easy morning of picking. People who hustled would double that. My berry pickers are generally 9-10th graders from the school where my wife teaches or are friends of my kids. Some come to hang out with their friends while others come to work. No one picks for more than 6 hours/day and most are done in 4 or less - which works out OK for me as I have them out of the berry patch before it gets too warm. I also offer a stocked fridge and freezer so that they can have a pop and/or ice cream when they are done.
Andy

Allan Balliett wrote:
If I had someone like your college girls I would either put them on
piece-work tasks or let them know that they could probably find a better
job working for someone else.

Andy

Well, sure, Andy. Do you have any good guidelines for piece work rates? I started in working for other farmers as a piece worker and while I consider piece work to be retro and inhumane, I share you belief that that is all that will work for some people, but what's fair?

Worse, of course, piece work is a way to pay-less-per-piece but it's not necessaritly a way to get work done. Unless you do the real unethical (which Cal-Can always did to we bean pickers) and hire lots of piece workers at one time...


Thanks _Allan
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