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Canner Operator #2

All MCC workers are expected to exhibit a commitment to: a personal Christian faith and discipleship; active church membership; and nonviolent peacemaking.

MCC is an equal opportunity employer, committed to employment equity. MCC values diversity and invites all qualified candidates to apply.

Canner Operator #2 in Akron, PA

Term: 
2 Years
Date Opened: 
January 4, 2012
Date Required: 
August 1, 2012

 

Synopsis: 
Each year since 1946, MCC has sent out a mobile meat canner, which MCC workers and volunteers use to preserve hundreds of thousands of cans of meat for communities in need across the globe. Four Canner Operators travel with the meat canner to 34 different locations across the US and Canada, canning beef, turkey, and pork. Canners are responsible for all aspects of the project including: operating steam and pressure vessels, coordinating volunteers, maintaining and communicating USDA regulations, and the maintenance of all machinery in the canning process. Lifelong relationships are forged, opening new doors for life after canning.

 

Qualifications: 

  • Commitment to Christ and the work of the church
  • Ability to actively respect communities who live out their faith in ways that may be different than one’s own.
  • Ability to work very closely alongside others as a team
  • Adaptable to new places and people
  • Physically strong/healthy, capable of repeatedly lifting 75 pounds
  • Ability to relate to local volunteer groups and appreciate the various diversities
  • Good mechanical aptitude
  • Ability to work with U.S.D.A. inspectors
  • Class 3 or Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) preferred
  • At least 20 years old in order to apply for CDL, with intent of driving truck interstate by the second year

Individuals interested in this position should send a letter of intent and current resume to Emily Stednick at eas@mcc.org.

 

Assignment Description: 
Canner operators work 8 -12 hour days from October through April including Saturdays. All working and down time is spent in the company of other Canner Operators. Canners are compensated for long working hours during the canning season by getting extra vacation time. Living conditions during the canning season often include sharing a room with one or more of the four person Canning Crew. Working conditions are more confined than a normal working environment, as the bulk of the workload takes place in the canning trailer where it is difficult to maintain personal space.

While on the canning site, Canner Operators must refrain from wearing long hair, personal jewelry, and inappropriate clothing due to constituent sensitivity and safety standards.

Summers are spent in Akron with regular working hours. This may include the hand loading of containers, loading of trucks, truck driving, and other manual labor at warehouse facilities. MCC will arrange for each canner to attend a U.S.D.A. approved canning course and to obtain a Commercial Driver's License (CDL).

Canner Operators are ambassadors of Mennonite Central Committee to numerous communities whose traditions and practices vary. Canner Operators are expected to understand these differences and actively demonstrate respectful attitudes and manners as if a guest in someone’s home.

 

Duties: 

  • Drive to, set up and operate canner at 34 locations in 13 states, plus Ontario and Manitoba.
  • Operate canning equipment:
- Steam boiler
- Steam cookers
- Steam-jacketed kettles
- Can Sealer
- Automated Printer
  • Supervise and coordinate volunteers working on-site during canning operations.
  • Relate to the canning committees and local volunteers and positively represent MCC’s mission to them.
  • Maintain and service the canner to get ready for the next canning season.
  • Other duties during summer include working in the warehouse, trucking trips, and trips to airports.
  • Should be willing to speak to MCC supporters about their work and the work of MCC.

 

Location Description: 
Akron PA (pop 3,500) is a small town in Lancaster County, Pa., about 10 miles from Lancaster City (pop. 55,000). Lancaster County is ethnically diverse, with significant numbers of recent immigrants. In 2010 the Akron Elementary School next door to the MCC office reports students newly arrived from 10 countries speaking multiple languages. Lancaster County is home to large Mennonite, Amish and Brethren in Christ communities characterized by theological as well as racial/ethnic and cultural diversity in addition to many other church traditions. Millersville University, Franklin and Marshall College, and Elizabethtown College (founded by Church of the Brethren) are located in Lancaster County. There are a number of smaller private, Bible and community colleges. Approximately 100 MCC and MCC U.S. staff work in Akron with another 10 workers three miles away in the MCC East Coast Ephrata Office. The Akron office is an open office environment, featuring dividers between departments rather than walls.

 

Challenges: 
MCC wants people to have a sense of the challenges and adjustments that workers typically need to make to be successful in this position.

  • moving to and living in a new location each week
  • working with and relating to many people with different backgrounds
  • working (and often living) in close quarters with the same people for extended periods of time