Election schedule: 5/25/99-5/26/99
Coastal Berry pickers vote Tuesday in Oxnard, Wednesday in Monterey & Santa Cruz counties
Acting on a petition filed by the United Farm Workers, the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) will conduct a union representation election Tuesday and Wednesday among 1,500 Coastal Berry Co. strawberry workers laboring from Oxnard to Watsonville.
The ALRB announced Saturday that the UFW had established a "showing of interest" to qualify for an election at Coastal Berry by submitting union authorization cards signed by more than 50% of the workers currently employed by the nation’s largest strawberry producer. Voting will take place Tuesday in Ventura County and Wednesday in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. Ballots will be counted beginning Wednesday afternoon in Salinas–with a large group of pickers also gathering for returns at the UFW’s Oxnard office.
Who: Some 1,500 Coastal Berry Co. strawberry workers.
What: Voting–from Oxnard to Watsonville–in a union election conducted by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board; followed by counting of the ballots.
When: Balloting 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on both Tuesday, May 25, 1999 in Ventura County, and Wednesday, May 26, 1999 in Salinas-Watsonville; followed by counting of the ballots.
Where: Voting at Coastal Berry ranches in Monterey, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties; counting ballots at the ALRB regional office, 1880 North Main St., Suite 200 (at Boronda Rd.) in Salinas, 831-443-3161–with a large group of pickers also gathering for returns at the UFW’s Oxnard office.
Note: For updates and locations, reporters can contact the UFW’s Oxnard and Watsonville offices:
* UFW Oxnard–920 South "A" St. (at 9th St.); 805-486-9674 & 805-487-2661 or pgrs.: 805-635-5787 & 213-501-4505.
* UFW Watsonville–18 West Lake St. (behind Main St.); 831-763-4824, 831-761-4936, 831-761-7177.
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Chronology of UFW-Coastal Berry Co. Election
April 1994–One year after Cesar Chavez’s death, United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez kicks off a major new field organizing campaign. Since then, the UFW wins 18 straight secret ballot union elections and signs 22 new–or first-time–contracts with growers.
August 1995–The 450 strawberry workers at VCNM Farms near Salinas strike over low pay, dirty restrooms, sexual harassment and other abuses. Then they vote 332-50 for the UFW in an election conducted by the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB). In retaliation, the grower plows under part of the crop and shuts down operations after the ’95 harvest.* It is the third time in recent years that strawberry growers have shut down and laid off workers after they voted for the union.
Mid-1996–The UFW begins organizing California’s 20,000 strawberry workers, focusing on the central coast region around Salinas and Watsonville. Berry workers face low pay–which has not been raised in more than a decade–few if any benefits, poor field sanitation and other grievances.
April 1997–Some 30,000 strawberry workers and supporters march in Watsonville rallying support for the organizing drive. Many growers begin offering modest pay hikes and minimal benefits while some field conditions improve–all in direct response to the union organizing.
June 1997–Monsanto, the ag-chem giant, sells its California strawberry subsidiary, Gargiulo Inc., to new investors who vow to remain neutral while workers organize. The new firm–Coastal Berry Co.–remains the largest direct employer of strawberry workers in the country.
July 1998–Roughly 1,000 berry pickers, including many employed by Coastal Berry, receive $500,000 in settlement of a 1997 federal class action lawsuit filed with help from the UFW. It charged Gargiulo with making workers labor "off the clock" without pay. Meanwhile, the UFW has been preparing for a summer election among Coastal Berry workers.
July 1, 1998–To forestall the UFW, anti-union foremen and supervisors at Coastal Berry stage a riot to halt the harvest in company fields near Watsonville. A large anti-union mob attacks pro-UFW pickers, injuring three workers and two peace officers. The only person arrested is Jose Guadalupe Fernandez, who is later charged with felony assault on a police officer with a lead pipe.
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* Even the Pete Wilson-appointed Agricultural Labor Relations Board issues a complaint against VCNM Farms for illegally plowing under a portion of the fields. It is settled for $113,000 in March 1996.
July 1998–In the next few weeks, the same anti-UFW foremen and supervisors go crew to crew forcing pickers to sign petitions for a union election. Pickers who don’t sign are threatened with being fired or beaten up. The "union" pushing this election is the just-formed Coastal Berry Farmworkers Committee. President of the Committee is the same Jose Guadalupe Fernandez identified by law enforcement spokesmen as "one of the instigators" of the July 1 violence.
July 23, 1998–Over UFW objections, the ALRB conducts an election at Coastal Berry. The UFW boycotts the election, calling it a "sham." Coastal Berry Farmworkers Committee wins by 113 votes. ALRB Regional Director Fred Capuyan says he is proceeding with the vote out of fear of further violence. "The state of California has surrendered to extortion and terrorism," declares the UFW’s Arturo Rodriguez.
Nov. 5, 1998–Acting on company-filed objections, ALRB administrative judge Thomas Sobel throws out the July 23 election because 162 Coastal Berry workers in Ventura County who had the right to vote weren’t notified of the balloting. Since the election margin was only 113 votes, the 162 disenfranchised workers could have changed the outcome.
May 6, 1999–The five-member Agricultural Labor Relations Board upholds the judge’s ruling and invalidates the July 23 election, paving the way for a new vote.
May 19, 1999–The UFW announces 20 strawberry growers or industry groups have either been enjoined or agreed to court judgements under which they must stop financing or supporting "worker committees" trying to influence employees’ decisions on unionization. Since the UFW filed a lawsuit in 1997 (UFW vs. Dutra Farms), subpoenaed bank records have revealed growers and grower organizations gave these worker committees more than $56,000. That violated a state law forbidding employers from bankrolling committees that interfere with their workers’ right to organize. Coastal Berry Farmworkers Committee President Jose Guadalupe Fernandez was also a key activist with the earlier worker committees.
May 21, 1999–The ALRB announces the UFW has established a "showing of interest" to qualify for an election at Coastal Berry Co. by submitting union authorization cards signed by more than 50% of the workers presently employed at the company. An ALRB- conducted election is expected the week of May 23 among workers in Monterey, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties. The recently renamed Coastal Berry of California Farm Workers Committee has qualified for the ballot by submitting cards signed by 20% of the work force.