Tuesday 4 p.m. March, 5 p.m. debate
Long Beach council challenges huge Central Valley grower before Cesar Chavez’s birthday
More than 100 Gerawan workers & supporters march to City Hall
One week before Cesar Chavez’s birthday, the Long Beach City Council enters an epic battle by farm workers to implement their union contract against a giant Central Valley grower—reminiscent of 1960s farm labor fights—by voting on a measure Tuesday, March 24 calling on Gerawan Farming to honor a contract issued in 2013 by a neutral mediator and approved by the state. Chavez’s birthday, a state holiday, is celebrated on March 31. Gerawan, one of the nation’s largest tree fruit and grape growers, sells its products in the Southland under the Prima label. The Fresno-based company, with 5,000 workers at peak season, is avoiding millions of dollars in pay increases and other benefits by refusing to honor the union contract.
More than 100 people, Gerawan farm workers traveling from the Fresno area as well as local supporters, will march at 4 p.m. from Harvey Milk Park on East 3rd St. in Long Beach to City Hall at 333 W. Ocean Blvd. for a 5 p.m. hearing on the measure authored by Councilmember Roberto Urangal.
The resolution would call upon Gerawan Farming “to meets basic standards of conduct, including refraining from violating state or federal laws such as labor relations laws, anti-discrimination laws, and minimum wage and hour laws, and to immediately implement the union contract issued by the neutral mediator and the state of California. For the “Resolution in Support of Farm Workers at Gerawan Farming” .
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a similar resolution on Oct. 22, 2014. See: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-union-fresno-farmworkers-20141022-story.html The L.A. Unified School District Board of Education enacted a similar measure on Feb. 10, 2015. See: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-unified-backs-ufw-20150210-story.html
An administrative judge with the Agricultural Labor Relations Board just finished six months of hearings in Fresno with sworn testimony on sweeping complaints or indictments from state prosecutors charging Gerawan with multiple, serious and repeated violations of the law aimed at “prevent[ing] the UFW from ever representing its employees under a [union contract]” and at decertifying, or getting rid, of the UFW, according to the ALRB general counsel, who issued the complaints. See: http://www.ufw.org/_board.php?mode=view&b_code=gerawan_legal&b_no=15722&page=1&field=&key=&n=11
The latest state-issued complaint says, “Gerawan and its supervisors” unlawfully supported workers who “stopped work and engaged in anti-UFW and anti-ALRB protests [to promote] decertification [and that] Gerawan…coerc[ed] workers into participating in protests,” and Gerawan closed its fields, directing workers to pro-company demonstrations. Gerawan also engaged in threats, interrogation and surveillance of workers, state prosecutors allege.
Meanwhile, Gerawan reacts to the indicting complaints by claiming, without any proof, that state investigators and prosecutors are biased. A slick PR campaign by radical right-wing groups based in Washington, D.C. and affiliated with Grover Norquist, who is backed by the Koch brothers, is being orchestrated on Gerawan’s behalf. See: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arturo-s-rodriguez/bigmoney-radical-right-gr_b_5786868.html
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