From the farmer to the warehouse clerk, it is the diverse experience of our employees who have always shaped our company. We are proud of their passion for making a positive impact on the global supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, and for engaging locally to help improve not only their own lives but also our shared communities.

Employer of Choice 

Dole employees, wherever they are geographically located, share a common purpose; providing nutritious, high-quality fresh fruit and vegetables to help feed the world. Together, we take pride in making that happen, every day. Everywhere Dole operates, we have policies that respect human rights and the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions. We support our employees with education, training, and good working conditions, and take steps to positively impact their families and the wider communities, too. Dole wants to be viewed as an employer of choice wherever we operate. In many rural agricultural areas, there is little economic development and limited job opportunities. Dole’s presence has the potential to make a positive difference in our employees’ lives. 

More than 80% of global trade by volume is transported by ships. For Dole, shipping is an integral part of our supply chain delivering bananas, pineapples and other produce worldwide. 

“Our ships did not stop during COVID, because our crews didn’t either,” commented David Cairns, Dole’s Vice President of Fleet Operations. 

There were many unsung heroes during the pandemic but ships’ crews, who sometimes faced prolonged and uncertain periods of isolation, were largely invisible to the world. By December 2020, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) estimated that 400,000 shipping workers were stranded on ships. A similar number were unable to board ships for work and earn their expected pay, jeopardizing their families’ livelihood. 

Dole stepped in to support our teams with relief payments for those unable to return to sea. We also helped hundreds of crew members schedule flights and navigate the logistics of travel. Across Dole’s owned fleet of 13 vessels, our Operations and Vessel Management Department have built strong relationships with our skilled crew members. The respect and value we have for our crews breeds high employment retention, with an average tenure rate of 8-14 years, with some ship masters serving with Dole for 20 years or more. 

“Our crew members are part of the Dole team and they know we do everything possible to keep them safe and help their families should any problems occur at home,” says Cairns. 

Thanks to the dedication of our ships’ crews, we were able to continue transporting our nutritious products in a timely and efficient manner to keep the world fed, a responsibility we were privileged to shoulder. 

Grateful as we are that our product deliveries proved reliable, our priority continues to be protecting our crews and working with local governments and international organizations to prioritize the needs of key personnel. In so many ways, the pandemic demonstrated how interdependent we all are and how we must work together to ensure the success of our global supply chain and the essential workers who keep it moving. 

Health and safety 

Dole is committed to providing a safe, healthy working environment for all our employees ensuring that someone at each site is responsible for workers’ health and safety and that at all times workers have access to clean drinking water and other basic amenities. In our owned operations, these checks are internally managed, with many of our global supplier sites regularly audited against company requirements and social standards.