Celebrating their 50th anniversary last month in Bakersfield the United Farmworkers Union with barely 27,000 workers under contract- half of what they had- the UFW is not the union powerhouse once feared by California produce growers. But don’t count them out yet.
With some backing from the California government and a perceived worker shortage in the state the UFW is expected to sign the first major contract with large Central Valley tomato growers in coming weeks.
This week the UFW and tomato producer Pacific Triple E of Tracy are signing their first union contract during a ceremony in Stockton covering 800 workers
UFW President Arturo S. Rodriguez will join the union’s negotiating committee and Pacific Triple E Operating Partner Jon Esformes in signing the agreement that comes after decades of battle and litigation.
In a news release Esformes said” When the UFW approached us last fall we found that we held many common ideals which allowed us to quickly establish a line of communication that was honorable, transparent and non-confrontational.”
“Working with the UFW will allow us to continue to enhance the level of mutual respect we have enjoyed for many years”he said.
The contract is said to provide wage increases of 12 to 57.4 % over the life of the agreement for hourly and daily rate employees. Other highlights of the contract include a pension plan, grievance procedure, seniority and job security.
Also expected to be signed soon is a contract with Manteca-based ACE Tomatoes. As with Tripe E, the UFW won an election years ago (1989) at Ace but but never got a union contract because the farm company never came to the table, the union charges.
The UFW has charged growers with bad faith after elections are won dragging their feet for years to stall any contract. Last year they got Governor Brown and the state to agree to new rules that gives them some new clout in talks with farmers.
Senate Bill 126, by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, now gives farmworkers greater protections in organizing disputes with growers, including allowing the state’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board to certify a union when it determines grower misconduct affected an election’s outcome. Brown signed the bill last summer.
Despite the kind words from Triple E’s spokesman the company and UFW have been going at it since 1975 when the union first won an election at the ranch that involves workers from several counties. The matter of the election was litigated by the company all the way to the state supreme court who found in the company’s favor.
The union won again in a state sponsored election in 1989 but it took until 1994 before Triple E and UFW began negotiations.
Now 18 years later, the workers will get that contract with UFW’s president Arturo Rodriguez asserting that it will make them the best paid tomato pickers in the nation.
California produces around 90% of all US tomato production.
On a roll, the UFW is pressing Governor Brown this summer to back overtime pay for farmworkers.
