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  • From: "David Inglis" <mhcsa AT verizon.net>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Piece Work Picking
  • Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:27:18 -0400

Allan,
How about harvesting a section yourself and use the time it takes as a guide
for pay. Nothing shuts up moaning apprentices or workers quicker than being
able to demonstrate that you can do the job better and faster than them even
though your twice their age. If I had workers , and was not a CSA, I would
set the scale at a level that would make them good money [a relative term
dependent on expectation and local conditions] if they were doing the job as
quickly AND as well as me and throw in bonuses if sales were going well. My
wife worked for a guy who ran his business on an informal profit sharing
arrangement like that [an extra paycheck per month if the month was good ],
it was the best place she ever worked from the point of view of motivation
and fun. It would not have been the same if he had just rolled the money
into the regular check; then it just becomes an entitlement and we know what
that does to moral.
Sorry we sent you all our rain in May Allan, because we needed it and you
did not.
Dave

Dave Inglis
www.mahaiweharvest.com

Berkshire County,
Massachusetts

> -----Original Message-----
> From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:market-farming-
> bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Allan Balliett
> Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 7:54 AM
> To: Market Farming
> Subject: [Market-farming] Piece Work Picking
>
> <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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> >> Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
> >> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
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