No one disputes that vineyard workers are the muscle behind the county's wine industry, but divisions are sharpening over whether the people who tend the vines are sharing in the bounty harvested from Sonoma County vineyards. Vintners and growers said wages are improving, with more progressive vineyard operators paying top dollar to keep the highly skilled employees who work in vineyards year-round. Opatz said he believes 80 to 90 percent of the more than 1,000 vineyard owners in Sonoma County are paying fair wages to farmworkers. Competition for skilled workers is driving up wages and benefits, he said. While grape prices have more than doubled over the past 10 years, state figures show average farmworker wages have increased only slightly during the last decade.
Housing also remains an issue for farmworkers.
There was a boom in farmworker housing during the first part of the decade after news reports of workers living under bridges and in cars during the harvest. Since 1989, a total of 19 units have been built by growers and vintners throughout Sonoma County. These bunkhouses provide living accommodations for 500 seasonal and permanent vineyard workers. Vintners and growers concede no new units have been built in recent years, and county planners said there are no pending permits for construction of farmworker housing. Peter Haywood, owner of Los Chamizal Vineyards in Sonoma and active in housing issues for farmworkers, said it's good business for growers to provide housing for their workers, particularly if there is a labor shortage in the future.