Earl Totten, of Oahu, Hawaii worked his high school summers as an assistant mechanic for Fresh Del Monte Produce. After graduation, he accepted a full time job and worked his way up through the company for 42 years, to the position of head maintenance mechanic. Then, in the fall of 2006, Del Monte informed Earl that he and 550 other employees would lose their jobs in 60 days. After nearly a century of pineapple production, Del Monte was pulling out of Hawaii.

“We didn’t really know it would happen, but we had a feeling it would.” Earl said. “They weren’t investing in new equipment.”

Earl first noticed signs of trouble when the Chilean company, IAT Group, bought 80 percent of Fresh Del Monte in 1996.

“They would always say Costa Rica can do it better, can do it cheaper,” Earl said. “Well, I don’t know if they can do it better, but they can do it cheaper.” Hawaiian farm workers made at least $10.95 per hour with Del Monte, which is more than many Costa Rican farm workers make in a day. 

Back in 2005, Earl helped negotiate a union contract with Del Monte that ran through 2009. At the time, Del Monte management denied that they had plans to leave Hawaii.

“During the negotiation, we kept asking [if Del Monte planned to leave Hawaii] and they kept reassuring us, ‘Don’t worry, we’re here to stay.’ But in reality, they were just prepping themselves for the big move.”

In February 2006, Del Monte announced that it would cease operations in mid-2008. That year, the company expanded production in South America, Africa, and the Philippines. Then, in November, Del Monte announced that it was going to shut down nearly two years early.  Workers had 60 days to find new jobs.

“Reality in the 60 days did not set in. It’s not an easy thing to deal with,” Earl said. About 90 percent of the plantation workers were first, second, or third generation Filipino immigrants who had little command of English. More than half of the workers were over 45 years old. 

New agricultural work has been difficult to find. Some farm workers have started working in kitchens or in food distribution, but their new jobs pay less than what they made at Del Monte. Other workers moved to the mainland United States or the Philippines.

Fresh Del Monte, on the other hand, earned $35 million more in the first quarter of 2007 than it had in that period for 2006 – far exceeding the $2.9 million earned from abandoning Hawaii.  

As of July 2007, Earl has not found permanent employment. He applied to Dole, the only pineapple plantation left on Oahu, but it was willing to pay him only $7 per hour.   Devoid of other options, Earl likely will go back to school to learn computer programming.

“At 60 years old, I gotta teach this old dog new tricks.”