Thread: Pulling back from strawberry market, Dole Food Co. to lay off 402 workers in N.CA.

This isn't about strawberries.

Dole is firing workers because they joined a union.

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The vast majority of the layoffs will fall on 268 unionized pickers, but also includes other laborers, drivers and supervisors from harvesting and cooling operations in Watsonville, according to a notice the company sent last week to state employment officials.

Last month, the company announced a similar move from its Southern California operations, including laying off 172 unionized workers in the Oxnard area, according to state records.

Growers statewide have complained of a worsening labor shortage that has pushed wages up and driven them to recruit more foreign guest workers.

In addition, new state rules that shortened the work week and require more overtime hours have added to costs, while increased restrictions on the use of fumigants also have put pressure on growers.

The big guys are very spoiled - bottom line, they want cheap foreign labor, long work hours and pesticide exposure. That is what the open border is about and why Americans can't do that work. They don't want to pay or treat them fairly.
The foreign labor will only take the low pay for a while than they will demand more too or leave the fruit to rot.

Buy your strawberries in season from local growers. They're delicious, nice and ripe, ready to eat.

Unfortunately, there aren't that many local growers any more, at least around here.

In East Texas, where we lived for many years, almost everyone had a garden, or one size or another. People would sell or trade their produce, the local grocery stores bought produce from local gardeners - even if they only had a few bushels. Thanks to the flooding by Mexican produce, they no longer buy locally, so gardeners either don't plant or don't plant more than their own need.

Yes, it would seem it is unionized workers that are being laid off. It wouldn't surprise me some foreign company doesn't purchase the land and facilities and employ illegals.