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  • From: Allan Balliett <aballiett AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Piece Work Picking
  • Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:53:55 -0400

<This is a resend of an erroneously titles post.>

anyone have a clue how to determine piece work rates on things like
peas and beans?

Having access to what the canning companies pay would be a start, I
guess. (They used to pay us 2cents a pound and people were making a
living off from that...but that's another story...)

This is picking for a CSA so I dont readily think of
dollar-value-of-the-crop when trying to determind what's fair to all
parties.

Your ideas and info appreciated.

Thanks

-Allan in WV


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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