LAKE COUNTY — Victoria Cubilla, a Kelseyville High School (KHS) student, sorts out the good from the bad pears at the Scully Packing Company Scotts Valley Packing Shed, while her grandmother, Ofelia Ramirez, who has worked for Scully”s since 1987, skillfully packs pears at the shed in Finley.
Generations of high school students have packed a lot of effort into a couple of months while working at Scully Packing Company through the pear packing summer worker program. The students make $9.50 to $9.75 an hour, equal to their adult counterparts, according to packing shed owner Toni Scully.
During the peak season of pear harvest, Scully Packing Company employs approximately 450 workers every year, of which more than 30 are high school students, according to Scully. The 16- and 17-year-old students are given work permits from the Lake County Office of Education (LCOE) allowing them to work.
“Scully Packing has been hiring students at its packing sheds for more than 30 years,” Scully said.
In 1996, Congressman Mike Thompson, who at the time was an assembly member, introduced Senate Bill1988, which allowed additional working hours for students in agricultural packing plants in Lake County. At that time, pear-packing plants were the largest employers of minors in the county.
The pear-packing season generally lasts four-to-six weeks in July and August.
The California Child Labor Law allows 16- and 17-year-old students to work in the agricultural industry up to eight hours a day and 48 hours in a week.
The bill, passed with a 3-0 vote in June 1996, allowed Lake County students up to 10 hours a day and 60 hours a week at an agricultural packing plant during peak harvest season under a special extension granted to the employer by the Labor Commissioner. The bill has been extended five times since with the support of State Senators Wesley Chesbro and the late Pat Wiggins.
Christian Moreno of Lakeport also has a family history of working at Scully”s, according to Scully. His father is a picker and his mother is a sorting supervisor. Moreno”s brother also participated in the program as well.
According to Scully, Sasha Racine started working at 16 years old. After a short break to attend college, Racine returned to Scully”s and is now the assistant manager.
Janette Jimenez, who works in the Finley office, started as a student and has been with the company for 15 years, Scully said.
While some schools now have earlier start dates, “the Kelseyville school district keeps with the traditional after Labor Day start,” Scully said.
Work experience is a graduation requirement for KHS, according to Principal Matt Cockerton.
“We live in an agricultural community. The students of agricultural families play an important role and the Kelseyville school board recognizes the importance of these students,” Cockerton said.
