Corralitos strawberry workers seek first test under Gov. Brown’s new law to overcome grower ‘cheating’
10/16/2012
Corralitos strawberry workers seek first test under Gov. Brown’s new law to overcome grower ‘cheating’
Salinas, Calif.--Strawberry workers from Corralitos Farms, LLC gather after work on Tuesday at the United Farm Workers office in Salinas to celebrate the Agricultural Labor Relations Board’s (ALRB) decision to set 15 of the UFW’s 17 objections for hearing, the two others are set for hearing conditioned on the outcome of the ALRB General Counsel’s investigation of two unfair labor practice (ULP) charges. The investigative hearing on objections filed by the UFW is scheduled to commence on Nov. 15, 2012 at the Salinas ALRB Regional Office in Salinas, CA. Corralitos strawberry workers are one step closer to upholding the 2012 law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown allowing the labor board to certify a union as the workers’ bargaining representative when employers “cheat” during a union election campaign. Governor Brown's stated purpose in signing the law was to allow workers to have union representation when employers use illegal tactics to affect the outcome of an election.
Under SB 126, the 2012 amendments to the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, the ALRB had 21 days from the filing of objections to an election to decide whether to set a hearing before a state administrative law judge. The ALRB issued its decision today, Tuesday, a day before the deadline in the case of Corralitos Farms, a berry grower operating in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. The United Farm Workers filed at least 17 objections to the election on Sept. 26. They were supported by declarations signed under penalty of perjury by numerous Corralitos workers who participated in the Sept. 19 balloting. The union, on behalf of the workers, says illegal actions by the employer influenced the voting process and prevented a fair election from taking place, impacting a majority, if not the entire workforce, and that the employer's illegal conduct clearly changed the election outcome.
The election objections include threats of discharge, grants and promises of benefits in exchange for voting against the union, interrogations of workers, interfering with the union’s right to speak with the workers and other serious violations of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act. The new law, which the governor proposed and approved last year, also accelerates the process for adjudicating election objections and establishes an approximate six-month time limit for the ALRB to issue a final decision on the election results. Corralitos Farms will be the first test of the statute.
Who: Corralitos Farms berry workers, UFW representatives and supporters. What: Celebrating the ALRB decision to set hearing in the first case under Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2011 law dealing with growers who “cheat” during election campaigns. When: 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. Where: UFW Office 437 E. Alisal Salinas, CA 93905
