Florida Growers Working Toward Safety And Equality
June 17, 2015 A Certificate of Farm Labor Management (CFLM) is a new UF/IFAS program. The goals behind earning the CFLM are to improve working conditions of farm workers through enhanced regulatory compliance and to recognize the professional development of farm labor contractors, crew leaders, and other farm labor supervisors. A guiding principal of this program is that higher compliance with farm labor regulations can be achieved through education, which in turn, improves working conditions for farm workers, reduces the severity and frequency of fines, and creates a more efficient labor force for agricultural operations.
Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS
The Certificate program was introduced during the fall of 2014 after four years of developing and teaching twelve individual classes. Classes focus on either economic equity or worker safety issues. Economic equity classes include wage/hour rules, HR compliance, management communications, farm worker housing, Department of Transportation audits, and farm labor contractor basics.
Worker safety classes include pesticide safety, equipment safety, first aid, CPR, emergency preparedness, and safe driving skills.
To earn the CFLM, one must complete 8 classes and pass a test for each class. Wage/hour, HR compliance, and one safety class are required. The other five classes are selected at the discretion of each participant. Following each class a student must correctly answer 70% of the test questions to earn credit for the CFLM.
With the fall, 2015 schedule, interested supervisors can complete the CFLM requirements within about one month’s time. Ten classes between October and November will be offered at four UF/IFAS locations: Immokalee, Belle Glade, Sebring, and Lake Alfred. More locations will be added as interest warrants.
A minimum of ten people are necessary to run a class. Classes will be taught in English and Spanish. Each class carries a registration fee of $50 per person. Please consult the SWFREC website for the schedule and the registration process. If you have any questions about the classes and earning the Certificate of Farm Labor Management, please contact the authors of this article.
Program Gets Good Kudos
Many farm labor contractors, crew leaders, and growers are embracing the program. More than 250 people have already taken one or more classes that count toward the CFLM and most plan to complete the entire program in 2015. Growers speaking up in support include:
John Martinez, director of human resources for Lipman Produce
“Obtaining this Certificate of Farm Labor Management is a testament by crew leaders that they are committed and focused on doing right by the farm workers they represent. Additionally, employers that support and hire crew leaders with this Certificate demonstrate an equally significant commitment to social responsibility and also doing right in their practices for ensuring compliance and upholding the highest standards in utilizing farm workers in their labor force.”
Shannon McNeil, VP of McNeill Labor Management, Inc. in Belle Glade, plans to have his supervisors and crew leaders trained before the fall 2015 season:
“A Certificate of Farm Labor Management is instrumental in making sure that crew leaders who represent a company fully understand the obligations of a farm labor supervisor. Not only does it help protect a farm labor employer company legally, but it also allows those who represent that company to fulfill the moral obligations of farm labor supervisors.”
Noe Leal, president of Leal Harvesting & Hauling, Inc. will have his supervisory staff trained in a private training.
“That way they can feel free to openly discuss situations that happen to them every day. This training will make sure my managers understand the fundamentals of the laws and the reasons the laws exist. Until now, when a new law came out, we weren’t always even aware of it. I want to make sure my crew leaders keep being the best they can be.”
Paul Meador, president of Everglades Harvesting, has several employees who have already earned the Certificate.
“Education is an important part of the responsibilities and success of anyone in labor management. I think these classes do a great job of addressing the things my supervisors need to know.”
Carlene Thissen, education coordinator with UF/IFAS, also contributed to this article.
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