A little knowledge goes a long way for those contemplating a job in custom harvesting, says a former worker.
Chuck Jedlicka, 24, feels his experience would have been better if his employer had given more details about what actually happens on the six- to eight-month long tours of farms from Texas to Saskatchewan.
“Tell how it’s going to be like,” he said. “If the wheat’s ready to cut, we’ll cut till two.”
Suggesting otherwise is false, he said. In the warmer climes of the southern states, it is not unusual to work in the fields until 5 a.m.
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“We’d get up at seven and the radiator on the truck was still warm.”
Raised on a farm at Rosetown, Sask., and now studying at Lakeland College in Lloydminster, Jedlicka knows first-hand about long hours spent on the combine.
He joined a custom harvest crew for a second season, but left midway through in Nebraska in 1998, not long after hurting his back lifting a combine part.
Jedlicka advised other workers to get a copy of the signed work contract and present their own conditions-of-work contract for the employer to sign. He also suggested interviewing harvesters from the employer’s past crews.
He would sign on for another run if those conditions were met and if he could find a good crew.
Jedlicka’s wages averaged $1,850 a month before deductions, with his room and board provided. Looking back at a schedule that sometimes included 100-hour work weeks and working for 30 days straight, he calculated that his wages often worked out to $2 an hour.
He would rather be paid for actual hours worked and pick up the room costs himself.
Jedlicka signed a liability waiver absolving his employer of responsibility in the event of an injury, and is paying for his own chiropractic treatments.
“Basically, I killed myself for these guys and get nothing but the gravy and you’re screwed for life,” he said.
He has trained as an emergency medical technician and enjoys sports, but all are hampered by his chronic pain.
“They (custom harvest employers) seemed like great guys, but there were too many roosters in the hen house,” said Jedlicka of his three Saskatchewan-based employers, who often gave him contradictory instructions.
Jedlicka said they were demanding and meticulous.
“They put too much responsibilities on kids.”
All down time, whether caused by rain delays or waiting for combines to dump a load, was spent cleaning the truck.
“They want you to be busy.”
Many harvesters have positive experiences and others don’t, he said, but few can afford the expense of a bus ticket home from Kansas or Nebraska.
Custom harvesting in Saskatchewan was a better experience for Jedlicka, largely because of the shorter days and proximity to home.
Different labor standards
Eric Greene, acting executive director of the Saskatchewan Labor labor standards branch, said he receives few complaints about custom harvesting in Saskatchewan. The issues seem to arise when workers cross over to other jurisdictions, where different labor standards apply.
He cited the case of a Canadian in Kansas who reported not being paid. It was outside of Saskatchewan so the complaint could not be investigated, Greene said.
In Saskatchewan, labor laws are based on eight-hour days and 40-hour work weeks. Some employers are afforded averaging permits of 160 hours over a four-week period to allow for more flexibility.
“You could work 16-hour days for 10 days straight, and not work any more time, without paying overtime,” he said.
“They are working more than eight- hour days, but fewer days over the period.”
Like Jedlicka, Greene advised custom harvest workers to get a copy of their employment contracts.
“Written agreements reduce a number of misunderstandings that can arise,” he said. “Some of the issues then become non-issues.”
Those contracts could also be used to file a civil suit if employment standards do not apply, he added.
Workers can file their complaints with the labor standards branch, which investigates all sides and tries “to rectify the situation.”
Greene said the branch has enforcement powers under the Labor Standards Act.
