refusal to implement UFW contract after a decades-long wait
Manteca, CA — Dozens of workers are planning to picket the headquarters office of Ace Tomato Inc. President Kathleen Lagorio Janssen on Tuesday in Manteca, near Stockton. The 1:30 p.m. action is part of a 23-year-long fight to force the employer to comply with state labor laws and implement the union contract.
The workers hope to persuade Lagorio, who was a teacher and enjoyed union representation through the California Teachers Association, to implement the contract allowing them to enjoy the benefits for which they voted more than two decades ago. They also plan to deliver more than 10,000 signatures gathered through an online petition asking consumers for support on their efforts.
The majority of ACE Tomato workers voted in 1989 to have the UFW represent them, but the Manteca-based grower has failed to bargain in good faith since.
In July, the ALRB ordered the employer to put in place the agreement hammered out by a neutral mediator with the participation of the company and the union. Under a 2002 law, farm workers are allowed to bring in neutral mediators to work out union contracts, called the mediator’s report, when growers won’t negotiate. The mediator’s report, which becomes the legal contract, was submitted to the farm labor board in Sacramento, but Ace Tomato still refused to implement it in violation of state law and after decades of delaying tactics.
Two weeks ago, dozens of workers traveled to Sacramento to meet with officials of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board asking the agency to obtain a court order requiring the tomato grower to implement a contract with the United Farm Workers of America. However, the agency responded that it lacks the authority to enforce the contract.
Who: Dozens of ACE Tomato workers and UFW leaders
What: Tomato workers picket ACE Tomato offices in Manteca and deliver more than 10,000 signatures from supporters.
When: 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012
Where: 2771 E. French Camp Road, Manteca, CA 95336
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