How this garlic farm went from a labor shortage to over 150 people on its applicant waitlist
By NATALIE KITROEFF
FEB 09, 2017 | 6:00 AM
Ken Christopher, vice president at Christopher Ranch, had been failing to draw new workers since 2014. (Feb. 9, 2017)
The biggest fresh garlic producer in the nation is giving its employees a hefty raise, reflecting the desperation of farmers to attract a dwindling number of farmworkers.
Christopher Ranch, which grows garlic on 5,000 acres in Gilroy, Calif., announced recently that it would hike pay for farmworkers from $11 an hour to $13 hour this year, or 18%, and then to $15 in 2018. That's four years earlier than what's required by California's schedule for minimum wage increases.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...207-story.html