Due to labor shortage, female workers are a growing presence in Napa vineyards
On a recent morning in a Carneros vineyard, a crew of 22 workers moved methodically down rows of chardonnay vines, hastily plucking leaves from an overflowing emerald canopy. As they worked and passed on, the growing berries were left with better access to sunlight and a greater chance to prosper in the months ahead.
Walking along the end of the rows and peering down each, Ciriaco Hernandez counted off.
“Thirteen,” he said, finally stopping. Of the 22 workers carefully pulling leaves that day, the 13 he counted were women. Hernandez, who is director of vineyard operations at Renteria Vineyard Management, the company employing the crew, said “nowadays” that ratio is normal.
Over the past few years scenes like this have become increasingly common, defining the transformation of a vineyard workforce, plagued by labor shortage and fewer male workers, that has coped by taking on women workers at an unprecedented rate, not only at Renteria, but across Napa and throughout the entire state.
Read more: http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/due-to-labor-shortage-female-workers-are-a-growing-presence/article_a3e95170-a77c-5061-8877-7edd749ced8e.html
