Washington cherry growers struggle to find pickers

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Yahoo! News/The Spokesman-Review Spokaine, WA

Thu, June 19, 2025 at 10:06 PM EDT


Jun. 19—The threat of federal immigration agents raiding orchards in central Washington is causing a labor shortage that has compelled some Washington producers to leave cherries unpicked or delay their harvests until the fruit overripens and is worth less money.

At least one cherry grower in the Mattawa area has already lost about 300 bins, each weighing between 350 and 400 pounds, said Erik Zavala, a horticulturist and director of field staff for Wenatchee-based Blue Bird Inc., which is a grower-owned cooperative of hundreds of family farms.

"People watch the news," Zavala said, referring to masked federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detaining persons off the street. "It's definitely having an impact.

"I don't care about that stuff. I just know that this is affecting the growers directly whether they are Democrat or Republican or whatever. These growers will lose a lot of money and are risking losing their farms because of a lack of labor." The official position of President Donald Trump's administration on agriculture workers keeps changing.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/washington-cherry-growers-struggle-pickers-020600192.html

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Mattawa is in Grant County, WA, where the County voted 67% for 45 and is solid R.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Such a waste of good food in a world of starving people, like in Gaza. . . . . nt

[CrispyQ]

2. Why aren't the govt workers who got laid off applying for these jobs?

That's what Lutnick implied would happen.

[Aristus]

3. Central Washington - Trump Country.

Sucks to be you, guys. Getting what you voted for can be a blessing. It can also be a curse. It depends on who you voted for. No sympathy. Pick you own rotten fruit, you lazy assholes.

Signed,

The smart half of Washington State.

[gopiscrap]

16. couldn't have said it better

I have lived in Western WA for most of my life and never could understand those selfish fuckers east of the mountains. Specially since a Democratic administration during the Depression saved their asses. So fuck 'em. FAFO

[littlemissmartypants]

4. This administration is a disaster on several levels.

We are in for a world of hurt.

[twodogsbarking]

5. Draft rich white kids to do it.

[homegirl]

6. WHAT???

Can't drag American teenagers away from their electronic games to earn some summer employment money!

[lildDemz]

7. Only if you have picked cherries for a day in the sun

should you suggest dainty U.S. citizens go to work replacing immigrants.

[LisaM]

8. It's such gruelling work.

I did one hour of U Pick strawberries once and my takeaway was that strawberries are wildly underpriced. It was back breaking work. Picking cherries is probably just as difficult. Mad respect for people who do it.

Yeah, turn it into a summer job for local kids and see how many takers you get.

[republianmushroom]

9. Live and learn.

[Bayard]

10. Sure

Everyone knows cherry pickers are father rapers and mother stabbers.

[patphil]

11. Without people to work the farms and orchards, we could easily become a nation that can't feed it's people.

It's not just the agricultural workers, it's the meat packing and food processing companies that won't have enough workers to do the job.
And then there's the warehouses, trucking companies, and supermarkets...all throughout the food chain we'll see labor shortages that will drive up prices as food scarcity becomes a real thing in America.
We already have low unemployment; not enough American workers to step in and take over the jobs lost by this reckless, downright stupid anti-immigrant program. Take away a million or two immigrant workers and we'll see food rot on the vine., and thousands of farms go bankrupt.
Remember, this is only the food industry we're talking about here. Many more businesses are going to be devastated by the mass deportation of black and brown people. Whole sectors of the economy will grind to a halt.
It's all just beginning.

[nowforever]

12. With H.S out for the summer

Your telling me the 16-18 year olds aren't clamoring for those jobs. After another year of Trump in office these kids might be picking. Maybe some influencers can create quirky funny content out of the suffering of migrants and farmers.

[Ray Bruns]

13. They just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps

[Mysterian]

14. I'm sure all the Americans who had their jobs stolen will show up any minute

Republicans said poor Americans were unemployed because of all those immigrants taking those gravy jobs!

[Karasu]

15. Gee. I wonder why.

[gopiscrap]

17. Oh well....tuff shit you fucking xenophobic

greedy assholes. You're the ones who voted for him, so eat shit. Hope you lose everything. FAFO

[Vinca]

18. Where's MAGA? I thought they all wanted to do "American jobs."