Mass Layoffs
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. It was reported recently that Northwest Farm Management was permanently laying off nearly 300 farm workers, without cause.
NWFM CEO and Co-founder, Keith Veselka says word got out because of a new state law requiring a 60-day layoff notice for agriculture, but the cause is, that’s what happens after all the fruit is picked …
VESELKA … “Yeah, it’s nothing new to us. It would have been great if, you know, the legislature would have considered all the, you know, options and variables before creating such a rule. But, you know, maybe this will compel them. I don’t know.”
There are, Vesleka says legislators who are farmers, but …
VESELKA … “There definitely are, you know, state legislators that have ties to ag, that have been farmers themselves, and they ‘get it’ but I think trying to educate the populus on where their food comes from and how it’s, you know, grown cultivated, it’s a challenge.”
So, in some cases, do you give notice before they start picking? …
VESELKA … “Yeah, there’s, depending on the variety mix that you have, you immediately hire and give notice, I guess. I don’t know. Yeah, it’s kind of silly when you think about it. But, yeah, it just shows kind of the general ignorance of what we do as a whole.
Again, that is Keith Veselka, CEO and Co-Founder of NWFM, Northwest Farm Management.
