Posted on 09/23/2004 6:14:50 PM PDT by pickemuphere
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California became the first state Thursday to ban weeding by hand on most farms, saying the work is too backbreaking for laborers.
Under a rule approved by the California Occupational Safety and Health Division, farmworkers, in most cases, will not have to stoop to pull weeds, but will instead be given long-handled tools that will allow them to work without bending over. The rule takes effect within two weeks.
The regulation aims to prevent the “real and substantial risk of back injury” caused by stooping to weed or thin plants by hand, Cal-OSHA said. The workplace-safety agency had no estimate of how many California field hands hurt their backs.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
According to the LA Times article on the same topic today (page B1), CA banned the short-handled (12") hoe in 1975, since using it to pull weeds was hard work and since anyone resting would be immediately visible.
So, the farmers/subcontractors hired workers to pull weeds by hand. Still, farmers prefer other methods, since hand-weeding is slow and labor-intensive (read: expensive).
I dunno... strawberries are pretty good if they're cold and fresh.
Once, me and my honey bought some and forgot them in my truck. It got hot that day. When we finally got in the truck, couldn't figure out what the stink was.
Finally found the strawberries. Smelled like dirty, old stinking feet. Toe cheese. Bad enough to make you puke.
I always thought that a good ho can make much more than minimum wage.
well im not a total city slicker but no i havent worked on a farm.
if the tool works, then maybe its cheaper than opening yourself up to potential lawsuits as well. i work in front of a computer these days, and i know even having your monitor in the wrong place can cause neck and back problems. it makes sense to use or better technology and knowledge to improve our jobs and health.
[kids detassle corn]
Been there,did that :)
It's good, honest, hard work.
Strawberries ten years ago tasted much better, but spoiled quicker and were more susceptible to diseases than the strawberries commonly available today.
Since the current strawberries already taste really bland, they might as well generate an "improved" type as resistant to bruises as apples and oranges. (I hope not!)
I wonder, if Cal-OSHA can enforce their labor regulations on farms, why can't the INS/CIS/etc. or Border Patrol enforce immigration law as well?
My father-in-law worked every summer walking the corn in NE when he was a kid. My husband decided washing dishes at Bishops was more his likeing, LOL. Still trying to get one of my kids to fly out there for the summer and "walk the corn". We in Connecticut don't have such options. I could never understand how a child could get lost in a corn field till I visited Nebraska.
This is no different than OSHA requiring hard hats on some construction sites. I don't see anything wrong with it and in my opinion, unless the farmer is hiring illegals, it would SAVE them money in workers compensation claims for injured backs.
At least they didn't demand the farmers eschew the operation altogether, and order them to only use "weed-eating" geese.
LOL
Thanks for the comments.
The answer is simple....roundup ready strawberries.
News Report: Thousands of children in California are dancing in the streets tonight after new labor laws prohibit the hand-picking of weeds.
It's easy when the corn is 12 foot tall....
All farm labor should be done by inmates. No need for illegal aliens to do it.
Why mixed feelings? It's called a job!
yeah but before it sprouts back up it digs its roots in deeper, making it harder to pull out next time around.
"I am curious, what kind of tool can do the job of weeding by hand effectively?"
Actually, weeding by hand was NOT outlawed, the use of short-handled weeders was ( how short is short ?)
"It gets easy after your millionth weed!" LOL
True.
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