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Date: 11 Dec 93 18:58:00 EDT
From: "JONATHAN HASKETT" <jhaskett@asrr.arsusda.gov>
Subject: RE: Farm Apprenticeship Program (fwd)
To: "sustag-l" <sustag-l@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu>
Before accepting an apprenticeship be sure and obtain an aggreement in
writing which includes specific statements about:
What will be learned
What equipment will the apprentice learn to use
What payments the apprentice will recieve (i.e. room and board, cash, %
of the harvest?) Payments should include cash.
What provisions are made in the event of an accident or health emergency
What is the schedule (be flexible) including days off
What techniques will be taught
Do not accept vague statements about "Oh you'll, learn everything, don't
worry." or "You'll learn as we go along." Specificity is especially
important for women in relation to learning to use motorized equipment.
Apprenticeships *especially* in organic farming are often thinly veiled
efforts to get cheap grunt labor, with little teaching and no access to
the farmers costly equipment (appeals to efficiency, the financial situation
etc.). The situation has become so egrigious in Maine that the legislature
passed a set of regulations requiring contracts and minimum set of
standards for *organic* farm apprenticships.
Jonathan Haskett
Former organic farm apprentice