Pact with Anderson Vineyards is UFW’s first Mendocino County contract: Union-label Champagne for the new Millennium now available

A new agreement between the United Farm Workers and the vineyard firm that harvests for a famed French Champagne-maker is the fourth contract between the Cesar Chavez-founded UFW and a Northern California wine grape grower and the union’s first-ever agreement in Mendocino County.

Workers at the 580-acre Anderson Vineyards based in Philo, Calif. harvest grapes for Roederer Estate Winery. Roederer Estate produces high quailty California champagnes.

Under the one-year union contract, the company’s 100 vineyard workers won a 2% pay increase–to a $6.35 an hour minimum base wage rate–with up to an additional 10% bonus on wages paid to each worker and a profit sharing plan of up to 6% of wages received for the year.

In addition, the pact provides comprehensive medical, dental and vision benefits for workers and their dependents; a 401K retirement plan; nine paid holidays a year; paid vacations; seniority rights; protections for workers involving layoffs, recalls, transfers and promotions; and a grievance and binding arbitration procedure.

The agreement was ratified by the workers in November and took affect retroactively to Sept. 15.

The UFW recently signed a contract on behalf of 50 workers at the St. Helena-based Charles Krug-Mondavi vineyards and 80 workers at Vista Vineyard Management. In 1996, the union negotiated a pact covering the 80 employees at St. Supury Vineyards. All three firms are in the Napa Valley.

Workers at Anderson Vineyards voted for the UFW in a state-supervised secret ballot election on Sept. 21, 1998. The company’ Champagnes are sold under the Roederer Estate label.

The Anderson Vineyards agreement is the UFW’s 24rd contract with a grower since union President Arturo Rodriguez kicked off a new union organizing and contract negotiating drive in 1994. Since then, the UFW has also won 18 union elections.

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