Laborers in the
vineyard today By Ann M. Lee
H
ere we are at the end of sum- mer. For the past three months, many of us began lazy days
with a cold breakfast, maybe cereal with milk. T e blueberries peeking through the cornfl akes in September probably were grown in New Jersey or Michigan. As early as April, they likely came from North Carolina; in June, from Washington or Oregon; and in July and August, from Indiana. My pint of antioxidant rich blue-
berries cost about $4. And it prob- ably was harvested by children. Children are short—just the right
Our food, our neighbors
height to spot and pluck out the gor- geous dark berries. T eir hands are small enough to reach between branches and not suff er too many abrasions. And when 8-year-olds are
properly trained, they are nimble and quick. T e more buckets they help their parents pick, the more money the family earns. T ey are paid not by the hour but by volume. In the parable of the laborers in
the vineyard (Matthew 19:28–20:16), a landowner negotiates wages with local fruit pickers who seek the work of harvesting his crop. He hires them. T roughout the day he continues his search, hiring more workers at 9 a.m., more at noon, and more again at 3 p.m. and even at 5 p.m. When the harvest is fi nished, he pays every- one the same amount. “Hey!” assert disgruntled fruit
COURTESY OF AFOP
A child migrant worker picks blueberries.
32
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harvesters who spent the entire day in the vineyard. “We sweated all day for you and they didn’t. How come they get paid the same? T ey didn’t earn it!” Underlying their complaint is the
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