Recently, California Governor Newsom appointed Ralph Lightstone to the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board. 

Lightstone has been a member of the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board since earlier this year. His previous work history includes senior advisor on policy and legislation at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency from 2016 to 2018 as well as director of legislation from 2010 to 2016. 

Newsom also appointed Marvin Kropke to the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board. 

Click here to read Newsom’s full press release.

Western Growers Insurance Services and Western Growers are on the road, traveling around both California and Arizona for the WGIS “Let’s Grow Roadshow.” The team will provide training on topics including human resources, insurance services, food safety, financial services and more. During the training, farming, food and agricultural professionals have the opportunity to explore some of the industry’s most pressing issues and receive tangible takeaways that they can immediately implement at their respective companies.

We are half way through the roadshows, so make sure to join the team in your city before the year ends. The next trainings will take place next week and in December. Register today to learn about the latest topic, wage and hour.

WAGE & HOUR TRAINING DESCRIPTION:

Managers and supervisors are tasked with important duties every day, including the responsibility of managing the time and attendance of their direct reports. Wage and hour responsibilities are one of those daily activities that tend to get overlooked, and yet can have serious consequences if the laws that govern this area of employment are not administered correctly. During this course, get an overview of state (California and Arizona) and federal wage and hour laws and discuss the role that managers play in ensuring employees consistently adhere to the law, including how they can help their organizations reduce the likelihood of costly wage and hour claims.

Trainings will be delivered by Anna Bilderbach, bilingual HR Learning and Development Manager for Western Growers. She has been training and coaching employees across the U.S. and overseas for 15-years on HR, leadership and supervision. Anna has developed course material designed to engage participants and help them retain the information learned. Her expertise was developed in the University of California, Irvine, in Human Resources Management.

LOCATION & DATES: 

These two-hour trainings are offered at multiple locations, including the following:​

• Yuma – December 3, 2019
• Imperial – December 4, 2019

REGISTER:

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR A SESSION

All sessions are open to the public and there is no cost for admission. The “Let’s Grow Roadshow” is hosted be Western Growers Insurance Services. 

For questions, contact Nicole Daily at (949) 885-2341.

Western Growers would like to wish you and your family a happy, enjoyable, and safe Thanksgiving!

As a reminder, our offices will be closed on Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29 in recognition of the Thanksgiving holiday. Offices will reopen on Monday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently shared with produce industry representatives their surveillance efforts of raw agricultural commodity romaine lettuce. This sampling assignment includes the collection of romaine lettuce samples to test for Salmonella spp. and Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Starting this month (November 2019), the FDA plans to collect 270 samples over the course of a year, with increased frequency in March/April and October/November— production transition periods.

This assignment is designed to help the FDA, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state public health agencies identify sources of contamination and help with the development of target investigations into foodborne illness outbreaks. If the FDA discovers Salmonella spp. or STEC in a collected sample, the agency will contact the firm of the findings and work with them to ensure the health of their consumers.

Click here to read full romaine lettuce assignment summary.

For more information, contact Sonia Salas at (949) 885-2251.

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their notices regarding the current E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, linked to romaine lettuce from the Salinas, California growing region.

According to the CDC, there is now a total of 67 E. coli O157:H7 reported illnesses, an increase of 27 illnesses since last reported on November 22. The illness onset date was previously reported as November 10, 2019; the updated advisory reports the most recent illness onset date as November 14, 2019.

Considering there is a wait period between the time a case is reported and then confirmed, we were expecting that these numbers would change since the first notices were posted last week.

For full details, please access the FDA and CDC websites.

For more information, please contact Sonia Salas at (949) 885-2251.

Click here to read the full CDC alert

Click here to read the full FDA warning

USDA is accepting nominations to fill three upcoming vacancies on its Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee (FVIAC) next year. The deadline to submit is Thursday, November 21, 2019, with necessary paperwork postmarked by or before this date.

First established in 2001, FVIAC provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on issues of importance to the produce industry – crop production, food safety, labor, and trade. Working groups on these topics provide greater depth and clarity in FVIAC’s responsibility to make informed decisions. Many Western Growers members have served in this capacity over the years, with three currently serving as 2018-2020 committee members: John Chandler of Chandler Farms in Selma, California; Jeff Huckaby of Grimmway Enterprises in Bakersfield, California; and Bruce Talbott of Talbott’s Mountain Gold in Palisade, Colorado.

Qualified candidates may nominate themselves, or someone can nominate another candidate who is interested, qualified, and agrees to the nomination. Nominees must currently work in one of the agricultural capacities within the supply chain, including growers, wholesalers, processors, retailers, importers/exporters, and industry associations. FVIAC members must serve at least one full two-year term (2020-2022) and attend two meetings per year in the Washington, D.C. region (approved expenses reimbursable by USDA).

Nomination packages can be submitted electronically by email to [email protected], or mailed to:

Darrell Hughes, U.S Department of Agriculture,

1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,

South Building-Room 2083-STOP 0235,

Washington, DC 20250-0235

Attn: Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee

Learn more about the FVIAC, nomination requirements, and committee member responsibilities here.

For questions or more information, contact Dennis Nuxoll or Tracey Chow at (202) 296-0191.