More than 340 workers employed at the George Amaral Ranches Inc., a Monterey County-based vegetable company which operates in the Salinas Valley, voted today to join the United Farm Workers of America.
On Monday, Amaral workers at a field in Chualar, south of Salinas, walked out on strike protesting unfair labor practices by the company. A large majority of workers joined the concerted activity asking the company, which grows and harvests vegetables, for better working conditions and wages. The workers filed a petition for a union election Monday and cast their vote Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning supporting the union by a margin of 4 to 1.
"This is a great victory for these brave workers who were risking losing their jobs by going on a strike, but at the end their courage and efforts paid off," said UFW Vice President Efren Barajas.
Barajas said a lot of Amaral farm workers had approached the UFW seeking union representation. He said workers had learned about how other UFW members had organized to improve their working conditions through a union contract and decided to take action.
"In light of the great support received by the union, we call on the company to respect the will of the workers expressed through their vote, not to file objections to the election and to immediately engage in good faith bargaining, so the workers can get a union contract," Barajas said.
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