The unions are much stronger in Hawaii than in most places on the Mainland. Before the old Maui Land and Pine shut down its operations, the union contract required that planting, picking, packing and driving be done by different workers, all under separate contracts. The new company has negotiated a contract under which all available workers can do all the various function. This is essential particularly because the size of the operation is much smaller than in the days when Hawaii was the world leader in pineapple production. Now, they pick one day, that pack and ship the next day, usind the same staff.
The Maui Gold pineapples are much larger and juicier than those from elsewhere, because the company attained exclusive right to a patented giant table pineapple from the research arm of the old companies. Pineapp;e takes 18 months to mature in the field, but surprisingly (to me at least), it requires less water than sugar cane. It is also grown at higher altitudes than sugar, which prefers land close to sea level. Dan Matyola http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 10:09 AM, Alan C <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks for the history lesson. I had no idea - still trapped in "Blue > Hawaii" mode. I suppose the same will happen here as the unions push for > higher wages. I think they can mechanise the sugar somewhat but the > pineapples present quite a prickly challenge. BTW, I like the photo - well > composed. I was just thinking - strategically planted pineapples could be > good for security. > > Alan C > > -----Original Message----- From: Daniel J. Matyola > Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2015 11:58 AM > To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List > Subject: PESO: Pine in the Field > > For almost 100 years, the pineapple was one of the most popular and > endearing symbols of Hawaii. It was grown and processed commercially > on all of the major islands, but especially on Lana'i, known as the > Pineapple Island, where Dole Co owned 98% of the land and used much of > it for growing pineapples. > > Labor costs were 25 times those of Southeast Asia, however, and > Hawaii's share of the pineapple market plummeted rapidly beginning in > the 1960s. Dole sold all of its holdings in Lanai to a holding > company that developed two major resorts operated by Four Seasons, and > early in the 21st century, Hawaii's pineapple production ceased. > > A group of former employees of the Maui Land and Pineapple Company > formed the Hali'imaile Pineapple company, and acquired the rights to a > large, juicy variety designed for consumption as fresh, rather than > canned, fruit. Trading as the Maui Gold Pineapple Company, it now > plants 1300 acres on the slopes of Haleakala volcano, and supplies > fresh pineapples to Costco and other retailers on Maui and the West > Coast. Maui is the only island currently producing pineapples > commercially, and the last island growing and refining sugar, the > other traditional agricultural industry that fired the Hawaiian > economy, together with tourism and the military. > > Pineapples grow slowly, taking 18 months to mature. This image shows > a growing pineapple visible on the edge of a planted field. > > http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=17960778&size=lg > Comments are invited. > > Dan Matyola > http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. > > --- > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > http://www.avast.com > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
