SONOMA PRESS-DEMOCRAT

November 17, 2005

More beds?

Sonoma County should consider tax for vineyard worker housing

They are the North Bay's silent work force. They start to come in the spring, and their numbers peak in the fall. In the meantime, they live wherever they can. Some reside with as many as 10 others in motel rooms or small rental units. Some sleep outside in encampments which county officials say present environmental and health hazards. The fortunate ones sleep in one of the 760 beds provided by the wine industry.

They are vineyard workers. They are the backbone of the multi-million-dollar industry that defines Sonoma County. Yet, as The Press Democrat pointed on a two-day series of stories this week, their basic housing needs often go unmet.

As Sonoma County Supervisor Valerie Brown said, this "is not the standard of living we pride ourselves on in Sonoma County." What's also substandard is the level of local knowledge about this hard-working segment of Sonoma County's work force.

An analysis by The Press Democrat of state and industry employment statistics found that about 3,500 vineyard workers live in the county and have permanent jobs here. But about 1,500 are migrant workers who come into the county at key intervals during the year. They start arriving in February, reach about 600 in April and are in full force during the harvest.

They start out making $7.94 an hour on average. Experienced workers average about $10 an hour. Given these wages, many seek low-cost or no-cost accommodations in order to send back larger portions of their incomes to family members in Mexico.

Some grape growers have been more diligent than others in their attempts to create farmworker housing. The most recent additions include a 38-bed facility at Dutton Vineyards in Sebastopol and a 40-bed unit at Seghesio Family Vineyards in Geyserville.

But this regional problem cannot be solved by such noble single-handed efforts. It requires a corporate solution. For a model, Sonoma County should look to Napa County, where grape growers are taxed $10 an acre to pay for the construction of dormitories for migrant workers. So far, the Napa Valley Housing Authority has provided about 175 beds for workers. If such a program were put in place here, those businesses that have already shown their financial commitment to creating farmworker housing could be exempt.

Given the high cost of land, housing will continue to be a vexing problem for Sonoma County. But this is one aspect of the problem that can be resolved - as long as officials from the county and wine industry are willing to keep the issue out in the open.