SLO County teens signed up to pick lemons in Ventura. But melons in Bakersfield? No thanks
To paraphrase the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wallace Stegner, California is like the rest of the United States — only more so.
With the Gold Rush, California became an instant state, comprised of immigrants from throughout the world. The Native American and Hispanic population were overrun by fortune seekers.
Within a few short months, the state went from territory to full-fledged statehood.
California has always needed labor. The Spanish built the missions and ran the ranches with labor from Native Americans.
Later waves of immigrants have taken on the role of builders. Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Hispanic communities have been some of the notable waves of labor.
Often immigration has been followed by targeted anti-immigrant backlash.
Like California, United States has also long been an attractive beacon to immigrants from all over the world because of its relative economic and political freedom.
But entry level work is hard and low paying. People who have options because of education or economic status, generally don’t want entry level jobs.
This column previously published the story of the A-TEAM, an unsuccessful attempt in 1965 to establish students as summer farm labor. The U.S. Department of Labor came up with an acronym A-TEAM, which stood for Athletes in Temporary Employment as Agricultural Manpower.
A Merced tomato-picking job was documented in a June 30, 1965, story — but the program was troubled from the start.
This article written by Bill King ran during recruitment phase on June 25, 1965.
43 sign here for jobs; Reaction mixed
Three meetings with high school students Thursday on summer farm work proposals produced both good and bad news.
At San Luis Obispo High School the news was good as nearly 100 students and parents showed up to consider a job offer to pick tomatoes in Merced County for eight weeks.
After hearing details of the proposal, 43 students signed up for the work with their parents’ consent. They will leave by bus Sunday and start work Monday.
However, things were different at Atascadero and Paso Robles.
The question of whether 18-24 students at Atascadero High would have summer farm work was still undecided this morning, and at Paso Robles High students turned thumbs down on melon work offered during a meeting Thursday afternoon with William Westall, representing growers in the San Joaquin Valley.
Westall met first with the San Luis Obispo students, offering the tomato jobs, but by the time he got to Atascadero for the second meeting the only work available was in melons. He said they could start work July 1 and work about five weeks in the melon fields near Bakersfield.
About 14 Atascadero students indicated they would take the work, not enough for a full crew of 30. Then Westall proceeded to Paso Robles, hoping to find enough students to add to the Atascadero work force to form a full crew for melons.
In Paso Robles, however, only eight students indicated they still wanted summer work. But after hearing Westall’s offer of melon work, clouded by uncertainties, the students pulled out of the program entirely.
Oliver Tanquary, head counselor at Paso Robles High, said the students were very upset about the new development and confusion. Originally 33 Paso students had signed up for Ventura lemon picking jobs which were abruptly canceled.
A week ago Westall told students at three schools that 400 jobs were available in the Merced tomato fields and he could use all the students he could get.
With Paso out of the picture, the picture was changed for Atascadero students.
The situation there this morning was that the melon jobs are out and now Westall is apparently trying to line up tomato jobs in the Salinas or Merced area. Students there were still awaiting word from him today.
School officials at Atascadero were wondering why Westall didn’t better coordinate the recruitment at Atascadero and Paso Robles to come up with an adequate crew.
Gary Kuhn, adult supervisor who is to accompany the Atascadero work force, indicated that Atascadero could have come up with enough students, combined with Paso Robles, to have the minimum number required for a melon crew.
The San Luis Obispo students will receive a minimum pay of $1.40 an hour during the green tomato harvest and then some time in August go on a piece work basis during the canning harvest.
They will live in barracks under adult supervision.
