Nursery workers

Work description

Crops/Commodities: Nursery work: annuals, ornamentals, shrubs, grasses, roses, mums, poinsettias, crepe myrtle, and tropicals. Primary duties (performed the majority of workdays): Use garden tools and equipment to transplant and cultivate shrubs, grasses, trees, tropicals, ornamentals, flowering perennials and annuals and fill nursery orders in accordance with specifications provided by the supervisor. Use gardening tools including hammers, trimmers, power shears, pruning shears, shears, ladders, shovels, rakes, staplers and assorted hand tools to perform nursery activities. Transplant or pot, space, label and tag plants. Dig, cut and transplant seedlings, cuttings, trees and shrubs. Propagate plants from cuttings. Plant cuttings into pots and trays. Count and check pots, plants and materials. Workers must keep pace while transplanting within an assembly line on a conveyor belt. Place plants and/or pots onto or take off of moving line. Weed, trim, sheer, water, pinch (add more breaks), prune and shape plants, shrubs and trees. Insert stakes and string for plant quality and/or for tags. Remove dead flowers as instructed. Mix potting soil and fill trays. Handle mulch, haul and spread soil, peat moss, fertilizer and other materials to condition soil using carts, shovels, wheelbarrows and tractors. Move containerized shrubs, plants and trees using tractors. Stack, rack, load and/or unload nursery commodities, tools and materials. Read orders to ascertain sizes, types and quantities of plants. Select, harvest, prepare and load plants for shipping. Must assure accurate identification and count of plants when pulling orders to load onto delivery trucks. Lay ground cover. Apply pesticides and herbicides. Inspect the color and condition of plants and bud ties to assess quality and to detect the presence of insects or disease. Inform supervisors of the presence of insects, disease or quality concerns. Workers must use extreme care while handling plants and only hold plants by container so no harm is caused to the plants. Secondary duties (performed on less than half of the workdays in the contract period): Operate, clean, maintain, repair and install irrigation. Regulate, maintain and repair greenhouse conditions and indoor and outdoor irrigation systems. Assist in the assembly of nursery buildings and repair nursery facilities. Operate, repair, clean and maintain nursery vehicles and equipment. Workers are also responsible for nursery sanitation duties including cleaning and maintaining work areas, sanitizing greenhouses, picking up trash and sweeping floors. May trap and destroy pests. Using the employer's vehicles, licensed drivers may transport workers on and off the farm and be offered additional hours. Allergies to ragweed, goldenrod, honey bees, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or related chemicals may affect a worker's ability to perform the job. Persons seeking employment in this position must be available for the entire period requested by the employer. Returning employees who completed the previous season shall receive an hourly rate of $16.39 for U.S. Workers and an hourly rate of $16.16 for H-2A visa holding workers. Employer may request, but not require, workers to work more than the stated daily hours and/or on a worker's Sabbath or federal holidays. Worker must report to work at designated time and place each day. Daily or weekly work schedule may vary due to weather, sunlight, temperature, crop conditions, and other factors. Employer will notify workers of any change to start time. Workers will have an unpaid lunch break. TERMINATION. Prior to any termination for cause, employer evaluates workers' performance of required tasks and compliance with Work Rules and other employer policies.