Hidden Fruit

Photo courtesy of Robert Harsh

Cover of New World Outlook magazine

Hidden in the apple orchards of the North Country are migrant workers picking bushels of apples for the season. According to Robert Harsh, "It has the stigma of Mexicans working in the field in California." He isn't talking about illegal immigrants who have struggled to make their way across the border in hopes of finding a decent job and place to live. Harsh, who is a counselor for the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and teacher of sociology, is referring to migrant Jamaican workers. The "stigma" is the feeling that many local people may have of these workers. That they are illegal and they have taken jobs from locals.

This is quite the contrary. An independently employed contractor whose mission is to look for experienced help for orchards hires the workers. " I really can't blame the (apple) orchard owners," Harsh says, " There is so much at stake with their crops."

Harsh first met with workers in 1996 when he was assigned a story for a magazine called New Outlook, the mission magazine of the United Methodist Church. His assignment was to observe the activities of the Peru Community Church who try to reach out to local migrants. Workers in local orchards such as Sullivan's located in Peru, are chosen for their experience. They were described by Harsh as "naturals" and a "little more specialized" because they came to this country with the knowledge of farming.

Apple picking may seem like a simple procedure but in fact, it takes skill and patience. If you pick an apple from a tree, and the stem does not come off with it, the apple will eventually spoil. This coupled with the fact that apples bruise easily is why experienced workers are necessary for the job.

Finding the necessary help is also scarce. "Using local people tends to be a stop/go (procedure)," Harsh says. Local area farmers might find a better opportunity after working with the orchards for a given period of time. At least with the migrant workers, owners of orchards are guaranteed help because a contractor hires them for this purpose. The orchards have to prove they don't have the local resources to import workers in the area. Most of the time, they are flown to Florida to work with sugar cane and they are bused to other places and orchards.

Photo courtesy of Robert Harsh

Migrant worker from New Outlook Magazine

The orchards take care of the living situations of the workers. Many of them live in dormitories or local hotels but they do have to pay for their own food. Except the apples, they are allowed as many as they want. "I don't really know of they'd want (the apples) after looking at them all day," Harsh says jokingly.

On the topic of wages, the workers earn around $1000 per year, which is controlled by the Department of Agriculture. They work only a few months out of the year, harvest time, and eight hours a day. "With the exchange rate, it works out to be a pretty good bit of money for them," Harsh says. One- thousand American dollars equals around $59,000 in Jamaican dollars. The working conditions are decent with the crisp autumn air and the summer heat gone. According to Harsh though, due to the recent hurricane in New York, the workers may have been working longer hours just to salvage the apples before the storm hit.

Aside from the lodging that the orchards provide for their workers, local churches also intervene to aid in their welfare. The Peru Community Church and its youth groups held rummage sales where items were sold at cheap prices to the workers. Harsh recalls kids from the group buying a brand-new bicycle and selling it to the worker's children for only $10. Although the kids of the youth group hated to part with such an expensive bike, the faces of the new owners lifted their spirits.

After harvest time, the workers usually return to Jamaica or they move to another location where they can work. "It's kind of a hidden thing, this whole (Jamaican) industry," Harsh says, "It's interesting to find out what it's all about."

Where do you get your apples from? Tell us!