10 am, August 18, at City Hall
L.A. City Council to pass resolution backing D’Arrigo workers in 3rd week of strike against huge vegetable grower
The largest strike to hit Salinas Valley vegetable fields since 1979 comes to Los Angeles Tuesday morning when the City Council is expected to take up a resolution supporting farm workers in the third week of walkouts against D’Arrigo Bros. It also urges L.A.-area buyers and distributors of D’Arrigo’s "Andy Boy"-label produce to contact the firm and voice concern for the strikers.
In recent weeks, hundreds of the huge grower’s 900 Salinas Valley harvest workers have walked off their jobs in protest over D’Arrigo’s failure to bargain in good faith and sign a union contract 23 years after field laborers voted for the UFW.
After introducing the resolution along with D’Arrigo workers from Salinas and UFW leaders in Council chambers at City Hall, Councilmembers Richard Alatorre, Richard Alarcon and Mike Hernandez will join them for a press availability.
Strikers have turned back repeated attempts to import strikebreakers, especially in rappini fields south of Salinas. Most strikbreakers have heeded appeals for support of the walkouts. D’Arrigo also grows brocoli, cauliflower, onions, cactus and mixed lettuce.
Who: D’Arrigo strikers from the Salinas Valley, UFW Co-founder Dolores Huerta, L.A. City Councilmembers Richard Alatorre, Richard Alarcon and Mike Hernandez.
What: Introducing a City Council resolution supporting the three-week-old D’Arrigo strike.
When: 10 am, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 1998.
Where: City Council Chambers, L.A. City Hall, 200 South Main St., downtown Los Angeles; press availability to follow in the press room.
D’Arrigo workers voted for the UFW in a state-conducted secret ballot election held in 1975, shortly after California’s farm labor law took effect. Current worker grievances include no pension plan, job security or seniority protections, no grievance and arbitration procedure, and a company medical plan that workers can’t afford to use due to costly out-of-pocket expenses.
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