Tuesday 12 noon March from 5th& Market, 2 p.m. City Hall vote
S.F. supervisors challenge huge Central Valley grower on Cesar Chavez’s birthday
Hundreds of Gerawan workers & supporters march on City Hall
Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will use Cesar Chavez’s birthday to enter an epic battle by farm workers seeking implementation of their union contract against a giant Central Valley grower—reminiscent of 1960s farm labor fights—by voting on a measure Tuesday, March 31 callingon Gerawan Farming to honor a contract issued in 2013 by a neutral mediator and approved by the state. Gerawan, one of the nation’s largest tree fruit and grape growers, sells its produce in the Bay Area under the Prima label. The Fresno-based company, with 5,000 workers, is avoiding millions of dollars in pay increases and other benefits by refusing to honor the union contract.
More than 100 Gerawan workers traveling by bus from the Fresno area will join United Farm Workers President Arturo S. Rodriguez, San Francisco Labor Council Executive Director Tim Paulson and local supporters for a march to City Hall starting at 12 noon from Fifth and Market streets. Then they will pack the Board of Supervisors chambers for the 2 p.m. debate and vote.
The resolution by Supervisor David Campos would call upon Gerawan Farming “to implement the UFW union contract issued by the neutral mediator and the State of California, to cease its hostile working environment, and to acknowledge through action the basic human rights of fair compensation and non-discriminatory treatment.”For the full Board of Supervisors resolution, go to (and click on Leg Ver1): https://sfgov.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2165447&GUID=D535292A-9D6C-483B-BF75-06A876691FEF
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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