Capitol Press

Vote issue snags unionizing effort

Efforts to unionize workers at Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman, Ore., have hit a snag as farm and union leaders disagree on whose votes to count in a union card-check election.

United Farm Workers Northwest head Erik Nicholson said the union wants to negate the votes of approximately two dozen farmworkers that the union characterizes as management.

The farm believes the workers' votes should count, saying the workers are nonprofessional, nonmanagement employees.

The issue may need to be decided by an arbitrator, potentially a Morrow County judge, before the union election can proceed, farm spokesman Len Bergstein said.

Once that is resolved, Gov. Ted Kulongoski is expected to appoint an arbitrator to determine the election's outcome.

In related news, farmworker David Calderon filed suit against the farm Sept. 25 for wrongful firing. Calderon is the second worker to sue the farm since the card-check elections began six weeks ago. In both cases, the farm contends employee actions precipitated the terminations and that the employees essentially quit.

-Mitch Lies