fbpx
ufw

UFW supporters march in Fresno in August 2022. File photo

published on September 30, 2022 - 2:12 PM
Written by

A farm labor bill nearly a decade in the making makes organizing easier for labor groups, but farm advocates say it was made without input from employers.

Gov. Newsom signed AB 2183 Wednesday as originally written after saying he could not pass it in the bill’s original form.

The bill helps give labor organizers access to employee information for organizing purposes. Membership in the United Farm Workers has waned in the past decades — CalMatters.org reported in January that the UFW has 6,626 active and retired members across several states. There are an estimated 400,000 farmworkers in California.

In addition to ballot card elections, what the bill does is give farm employers one of two options. Starting in January, they must decide how they will engage with employees when it comes to organizing activity.

The first option is to remain neutral in farm labor voting. Employers cannot interact with employees during union votes, but they may inform workers of facts as it pertains to what unionization may mean.

The labor neutrality agreement also requires farmers to forfeit compensation for when a union comes onto their property to recruit, something the Supreme Court had ruled on in 2021 saying it was unconstitutional for organizers to come onto private property without consent.

Union votes under a labor neutrality agreement have to exceed 50% of all workers in order to approve unionization.

If an employer does not sign onto the labor neutrality agreement, they are required to grant union representatives a “voting kit request form,” which would include addresses and telephone numbers of employees to allow organizers to contact them.

Under this provision, organizers need only receive 50% plus one of those who send in ballots. It does not require that all workers be polled.

In August, days before the legislative deadline, Newsom said he could not support the bill because of concerns about election security.

President Joe Biden then came out in support of the bill, urging Newsom’s signature. Ian LeMay, president of the California Fresh Fruit Association, called it “disappointing on a whole host of reasons.” Vice President Kamala Harris, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack all supported the bill as well.

“If those individuals were so interested in California farm policy I would encourage them to engage in U.S. farm policy,” LeMay said.

LeMay added that California has the highest farm labor standards, exceeding other states in farmworker minimum wage and overtime hours.
LeMay said ag was left out of the negotiating table “in totality.”

Cost and availability of labor has increasingly been a concern for farmers also combatting higher water costs as well as interest rates and shipping clogs keeping goods from entering foreign markets.

Newsom, the United Farm Workers as well as the California Labor Federation had agreed to pass clarifying language in next year’s legislative session to satisfy concerns around implementation and voting integrity.


e-Newsletter Signup

Our Weekly Poll

Do you think Valley Children's Hospital will lose financial support due to CEO pay revelations?
119 votes

Central Valley Biz Blogs

. . .