laborer

shipping and receiving clerk

millwright

maintenance electrician

loader operator

Highline Mushrooms

A typical day at Highline? So many great plans, in theory. Complete disorganized chaos, in reality. Poor communication, if any. Unsafe conditions. Limited on the job training. Yet mushrooms continue to be grown, harvested, packed, and pushed out the door, using the absolute worst equipment imaginable. Preventative maintenance is unheard of. All of this makes for such a delicate daily balance that the slightest miscalculation or broken part can throw everything into a frenzied, highly stressed situation. 

What did I learn? Don't expect to be appreciated, heard, or defended. You will learn what it's like to work in an unsafe, cramped, stressful environment. Expect to be criticized, reprimanded, even offended and disrespected at times. You'll also come to realize that your previous worst job wasn't actually that bad. 

Culture? Toxic. Favoritism and prejudice should be included in their mission statement.

Management? About 5% of are trustworthy, respectful individuals that actually care about you and the company. But they're so overworked they won't be able to do much to help. All of them are spread so thin that they're unable to properly manage anything.

Hardest part? The expectation to be perfect in a broken system. Being held accountable for this system by people with no integrity.

Most enjoyable part? The people you're in the mess with daily. They all know the place is broken as a whole, and the ones that stick it out have chosen to accept it and make the best of it. They're your best allies and they'll help you if you help them, even put a smile on your face when you don't think it's possible.

With the right attitude, you can survive at Highline for quite some time, as long as you're willing to sacrifice your dignity and any family you might be close to. You're able to see the humor in it all and take pride in how much you're capable of tolerating and how much you can accomplish in spite of the adverse conditions. 

I would start work at 6.30 am and would finish no later than 6.00pm. The finishing time was dependant on the amount needed to provide the orders for that day.

I learned how work in an establishment where stystems of work was very demanding depending on the orders for mushrooms requested, It was also peice work where the amount of mushrooms picked and packed dictated your earnings.

I was also asked to supervise different rooms to ensure the teams maintained the standard of work expected. The managers were very suppotive and would allow us to maximise our potential.

I work as part of a team, working within different areas as stated above. Teamwork was very important because each team member depended on each other to maintain standards .

All the workers came from different parts of the world leaving their families behind Eg: Thyland, Veitnam, China, Jamiaca, Philipeans, ect.so the foreign workers became one big family (Mushroom family).

The mushrooms were quite difficult at times as you had to make sure that the mushrooms had a precised stem, size, clean, and not damaged to meet quality control. and health and safety.

The company would organise parties 3 times a year to celebrate different occasions Eg: Christmas, Barbecues in the summer Ect.

They start by saying whatever to get you to start working there during the initial interview.  For me it was 8 hours a day 40 hours per week and other things.  I was smart enough to ask for on the job training which is desperately needed.  On my training day they told me it would be 1-2 hours and not to bring a lunch....I was there for a full 8 hours.  During training they gave me my work schedule and start time which was 7am, however I must clock in and start at least 15 min before or I'm late.  For my scheduled shift, I packed a lunch but wasn't able to eat it as I had no breaks.  This was a repeat occurrence for every shift.  I would work from "7am" to about 9pm, plus/minus 30min, every day including weekends(24/7/365).  On top of this they refused to train me on power jacks and I was forced to move skids that weighed up to 3000lbs with a hand jack.  Also the floors were not level and usually you are going up an incline with the weight.  Needless to say but my body could not handle this weight and now I'm permanently disabled in my 20s.

Highline is a great place to work. Is it challenging and fast paced? Yes. Does Highline care about their employees? Yes. 

Highline tries to give their employees the best they can. There are multiple different social events that employees and their family get to attend for free. Highline also provides a comprehensive benefit package for all employees, including health, dental, vision, life insurance, pension, etc.

Unlike other agriculture companies in the area, Highline pays overtime, holiday pay, statutory pay, and tries to regulate hours the best they can. 

Highline appreciates their employees, and will go above and beyond where they can. Travel pay is provided to every hourly associate to help offset the cost of commuting. 

Highline is a great place to work and will always embrace new employees. If you have any questions, you are encouraged to speak with managers or HR, and help will be provided.

Doesn't matter how hard you work, your efforts are going down the drains. And don't let any higher manager see that you are a free thinker with a mind of your own because they will consider you a threat.

The Managers did not care about the quality of our work, Even when working 70+ hours per week, employees were told that they are not working enough overtime hours. In addition, some Managers were downright abusive of their employees and supervisor's at farm & pack house. HR is aware of the issue but does not take any action whatsoever.


Unethical management
Toxic Workplace Culture.
Gossip & Rumours from managers
hostile working environment.
Discrimination and Harassment.
Unrealistic and Conflicting Goals.
Questionable Use of Company Technology
Improper or excessive company policies

There are so many issues with this business that I could write an essay. Most people who work there would agree that it is not a great company, and yet nothing significant ever changed. For example, the work hours are terrible because one may never know when their shift begins until the night before, and a shift only ends when there is no more work for the day. Having a healthy work life balance while employed here is difficult. This is not to say that working lengthy hours and going above and beyond is disdainful in some way, but this is a mushroom farm, not a law firm of software studio, where such effort would be more generally appreciated and even rewarded. 

On the bright side: I will note that there are some decent benefits associated with working here (such as dental coverage).

Management is all over the map. They run paper thin margins. Which results in them getting upset with others.  Issues always hit the fan when quality is not top notch, the mushrooms degrade fast and are not kept consistent. Yellowing mushrooms are an issue especially with retailers. 

Directors/Managers have big egos and can't deal with criticism and they think they are right all the time. Most are naive and have little to no experience in their field, are basically critics who have managed people before. Let the people who do the work, work... and listen to them. 

Office staff is a revolving door. Some positions have had 3-4 people in and out in one year. Avoid this place. The smell is indicative of the management and CEO'S bad temperament. It stinks!

I have worked at the highline mushroom farm in kingsville for 14 years and From the very beginning started out as a productions line worker in the packing room part time for a couple years, then became a machine operator full time for another couple years, after that I advanced to a lead hand/supervisor position.  If you prove to yourself and upper management that you can do a great job every day, they Will notice and you can build a career for yourself. It is a very stressful job because you need to work hard at a fast pace and work long hours. Highline gives 15 min breaks that are paid (every 2.5 hours). The ESTIMATED daily finish time is posted up for everyone to see around 3pm.

management is HORRIBLE, i regret working here as they did little to nothing to help me when i was having problems working here & when i finally went to complain about my manager, they fired me a week later, without notice. I truly 100% recommend that if you are applying here or thinking of working here, to just go somewhere else to look for employment. they do not care about you here @ highline. not to mention what they pay you is horrible, you could easily go somewhere else and get $3-$5 more an hour. 
Also, i was there 6-7 months, i was elegible for my benefits, they "put them through" at my 3 month mark & every time i asked about it, hey said there was an error with the system and i am unable to get benefits, but every one else could a quire theire benefits? terrible, terrible company. 
my job title says volunteer but i was not a volunteer.

A typical day involves a mix of planning, coordination, and hands-on problem-solving, especially in maintenance and project-related work. From preventive maintenance, root cause analysis, to managing multiple priorities across different facilities.

Management is very supportive and open to ideas, especially if you take initiative. The workplace culture encourages continuous improvement, though communication between departments can sometimes be a challenge.

The hardest part is managing time effectively across multiple sites, but it's also what makes the role dynamic and rewarding. The most enjoyable part is the autonomy and opportunity to make meaningful improvements that have a real impact.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Laborer 4 salaries reported	$26.80 per hour
Shipping and receiving clerk 12 salaries reported	$20.82 per hour
Millwright 5 salaries reported	$44.74 per hour
Maintenance electrician 5 salaries reported	$39.38 per hour
Loader operator 4 salaries reported	$30.37 per hour

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