United Farm Workers submitted ballot cards last week for the state’s first union election under California’s controversial card check law. But the election is already being challenged.
The Agricultural Labor Relations Board will discuss alleged mishandling of the ballots during a closed-door session on Wednesday. Attorneys for DMB Packing, known as DiMare Fresh, have charged that UFW included ineligible workers in the union count and coerced workers into signing ballots without fully understanding the process.
The board’s decision in the case could set a precedent for unionization efforts going forward.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here.
UFW narrowly won the election, convincing just 51% of the workers to unionize. It had failed to win over the same workers just a month earlier, when ALRB determined the union had not gained the majority of the vote.
The board is holding two days of hearings in Visalia, where the packing plant is located. The second day will focus on concerns by environmental justice advocates of pesticide exposure to farmworkers.
