May 2021 - 8

CELEBRATING 60 YEARS
LABOR
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
more crops, Shapley suggested " the
market may change even more from
fresh to processing. And we'll probably
see some crops eliminated. "
He said the large decrease in the
number of peach trees in Michigan
over the last few years, and although
some of that decline is attributed to
the incidence of X-disease and severely
frigid weather, growers are also losing
interest in peaches because the harvest
can't be mechanized.
Other commodities may become
scarce, with prices soaring out of sight
but demand possibly holding strong,
he said. He cited his own experience in
growing a limited crop of raspberries
next to his rural home near Mason,
Michigan. " I get a dollar a pint for
them, " he said. " I don't know why
people would pay that much for them,
but the demand is there. That's what's
happening in raspberries. "
Consumers may also increasingly
find their fresh vegetables and fruits
available only if they pick them
themselves, Shapley said. " The switch
to U-pick has been amazing. If you
had told me 10 years ago how many
U-pick operations there would be by
now, I wouldn't have believed you. But
there are a lot more coming. "
Some growers who are committed to
a labor supply are turning to personnel
management education, and this trend
will likely continue, said Shapley, who
believed better management techniques
with employees can result in greater
productivity and less turnover.
Employee relations tips given
A prime example of farm labor
management approaches was shared
on Jan. 24, 1980, when John and Joan
Bintz of Apple Mountain Market, a
diversified farm complex in Freeland,
near Saginaw, Michigan, spoke at
the annual Roadside Marketing and
Pick-Your-Own Program held in
conjunction with the Great Lakes
Vegetable Growers Convention in
Lansing, Michigan.
As was reported in the Great Lakes
Fruit Growers News, the Bintzes had
200 employees at their operation. " It
has been 20 years of trial and error, "
Joan Bintz said.
" It's always a new ballgame as you're
expanding, " John Bintz said. " As you
get bigger, you have to have rules and
controls. " As a result, they devised
a policy manual for the use of each
employee. The policy manual is for
the protection of both employer and
employee, he said.
" You have to fit the right person in
the right slot, if you can, " John Bintz
said. " Employees are different from
one to another. You have to ferret
out what the individual is like. Some
like just the one job they are trained
for and don't want to be shifted to
something else. Others like to move
around and go from job to job to
give them some variety in their work
experience. "
Joan Bintz said much of the farm's
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labor relations efforts were to deflect
their workers' interests in joining a
union. " You remain non-union by
knowing how the employees want to
be treated, and then you treat them
that way. "
She said the threat of unionization
is very real no matter where you
operate. " Don't think that because
you're out in the country, the big city
people won't bother you. You're wrong
if you think this way. " FGN
http://www.FruitGrowersNews.com
May 2021

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