Who can afford to make $15 an hour and live within commuting distance of Napa? And if they can, will they want to do physically demanding field labor to earn that $15?
The labor crunch across wine country is real, especially for grape-growers who need not just labor, but skilled, reliable and hard-working labor. In recent decades, the farm labor market has been transformed in this country by the H-2A program, which allows farmers to recruit seasonal agricultural workers from abroad.
By law, these workers are not permitted to take jobs away from domestic workers, so they can only be brought in after applicants prove that they have exhausted employment options at home, the offer must be for a temporary or seasonal job and they must be paid an hourly wage that is competitive. In California, that means around $14.77 an hour, while in North Carolina, the rate is about $12.67. Employers must also house and transport those workers to and from home.