Sonoma County grape growers launch effort to help their workers

The main trade group representing Sonoma County vineyard owners and managers announced Thursday a campaign to improve the social plight of their workforce in the midst of a tight labor market.

The Sonoma County Winegrowers organization, which represents more than ?1,800 county grape growers, will revive its nonprofit foundation to help fund the initiative, which will be rolled out with a few pilot projects by year’s end, President Karissa Kruse said. The foundation, launched in 2002, had been used for education programs.

The effort comes on the heels of a survey of the estimated 5,000 county farmworkers, primarily Latinos who almost all work in the $600 million local grape crop. The survey found only 30 percent of the county’s farmworkers reported having health coverage, compared to ?86 percent of all county adults.

Approximately 30 percent received housing support from their employer, with 14 percent living on the worksite. About one-third lived in overcrowded residences, sharing a bedroom with two or more roommates. The national rate is less than ?3 percent.

The initiative comes as local vineyard managers are finding it more difficult to attract and retain employees due to tighter immigration curbs and a dwindling supply of qualified workers. In addition, Napa County has long been ahead of Sonoma in providing housing to attract workers. It has three farmworker housing centers operated by Napa Valley Housing Authority.

Very little of the workforce is unionized. The United Farm Workers of America union did not respond for comment on the initiative.

Unlike past generations, local farmworkers today are not migrant. Eighty-eight percent said Sonoma County was their permanent residence, according to the survey; 71 percent lived with their families.

“They are living here and they have families and we really haven’t looked at the models,” Kruse said. “We still hear people say, ‘Build bunkhouses on your vineyard.’ And put five families in a bunkhouse? Is that how you want to live?”

She made the comments Thursday at the group’s annual meeting, held at the Wells Fargo Center.

The foundation will seek to match vineyard managers with local agencies and groups that provide social services.

Farmworkers have specific needs that are likely needed to be addressed by the effort, said Brian Vaughn, a Sonoma County health policy director.

Vaughn noted that farmworkers have higher rates of smoking; 21 percent of the group currently smokes, according to the survey, as opposed to 8 percent of all Sonoma County adults.

Enrique Castillo, owner of Enrique Vineyard Management in Sonoma, said there has been pressure to raise pay. He has increased his non-harvest rate to $12 per hour, a $1 increase. His workers are paid $25 an hour during harvest.

Castillo, a former farmworker who emigrated from Mexico, said he would like to offer health insurance but can’t afford it for his 12 employees who work year-round. He did note a tremendous need for dental coverage. Thirteen percent said they had no place to go for dental care,

“They can’t afford it,” Castillo said.

The foundation will bring in workers for a discussion on the overall initiative within the next couple of months and have a larger summit in the spring, Kruse said. She noted that some member growers have offered health insurance, but some workers have not signed up for various reasons.

“They are like, ‘We have offered health insurance. Why don’t they take it?.?.. or only ?20 percent are taking it,’” Kruse said of her members.