If cooking Thanksgiving dinner involves a lot of labor, harvesting the ingredients is harder. In a Twitter thread, United Farm Workers—the largest union for farmworkers in the U.S.—shared short videos showing what it takes to pick, say, brussels sprouts or celery. The speed and skill of the workers is astounding.
Here’s a woman picking a bunch of parsley every two to three seconds:
Parsley workers earn around $1.90 per crate of 60-65 bundles. The skill of the worker here is astonishing. Video is from near Oxnard. pic.twitter.com/8MDov88SeS
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) November 23, 2020
A skilled worker can harvest turnips even faster:
Charlie showed us how he harvests turnips. He's paid piece rate – he earns $1.50 every 2 buckets. He is the fastest in his crew and averages 24-26 buckets/hr.
Rushing without skill could easily cost you a finger. pic.twitter.com/myfwdpi1Ke
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) November 23, 2020
Celery, along with carrots (and squash, which has prickly stems), can harm the skin, so workers have to stay covered even in extreme heat:
Bet there’s celery in your stuffing. Celery juice causes a toxic skin reaction with sun exposure so even pre-covid the workers always cover their exposed skin while they work. pic.twitter.com/L1cwVucog3
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) November 23, 2020
Brussels sprouts grow on a very tough, woody stem— which means workers need both strength and precision to avoid serious chop injuries. Here’s a video (but also just google image search them, because they look very strange while growing!) pic.twitter.com/im2H9TI0L3
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) November 23, 2020
The tweet about cranberries doesn’t mention the wolf spiders that sometimes crawl on workers when bogs are flooded:
There are two methods for cranberry harvest- wet method and dry method. Pictured is the ‘wet harvest’ method where the cranberry bog is flooded and the plants are shaken to dislodge the submerged berries. They have an air pocket inside them so they float up to be collected. pic.twitter.com/v712ve9kFc
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) November 23, 2020
This vid is from Indiana's onion fields. Farm workers often work 12 hrs/day in the hot sun. Indiana doesn't have heat regulations, so their only shade is if there are trees at the end of a row.pic.twitter.com/FL7EA2T3hz
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) November 23, 2020
Typical piece rate for apple workers is $22-26 for each bin. Here’s the size of the bin.pic.twitter.com/Tw0NBCublw
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) November 23, 2020
The UFW says its thread is to let people know the intense labor that went into their produce before it arrived at their grocery store. The videos also highlight the difficult work environments that many of its members work in, from shadeless fields to chilly cranberry bogs.
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
