Wonderful Nurseries has again sued the Agricultural Labor Relations Board over the controversial new card check system for union elections. The move comes after an appeals court judge lifted an injunction that had prevented ALRB from pursuing a bargaining agreement for the nurseries.
Wonderful alleges in the new lawsuit that ALRB used the mediation process to dictate an agreement without approval from the nursery or the workers involved. The company maintains its argument that United Farm Workers misled employees into believing they were signing up for COVID-19 relief payments rather than union representation.
State assesses ag’s energy needs
State agencies are asking farmers and ranchers to put a number on their potential charging demand under the Newsom administration’s transition to clean trucks and tractors.
The Air Resources Board, the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Commission have commissioned researchers at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo to conduct a comprehensive survey of ag operations. The questions cover the types of equipment in use now and any plans for switching to electric models, along with general information about commodities and acres in production.
A previous survey on infrastructure gaps helped inform state and federal policymakers in doling out millions of dollars in incentive grants.
Why it matters: According to the Western Agricultural Processors Association, the agencies had assumed the state would have no problem meeting the electric demand for farms.
After a meeting last fall with trade groups, however, the information gap became a sudden reality. It coincided with an admission by the state’s top utilities, PG&E and Southern California Edison, that the grid was already facing system-wide constraints.
Manuel Cunha, president of the Nisei Farmers League, has been one of the strongest voices in pointing out the constraints. He told the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District last month that CARB “has failed tremendously to recognize the utility availability.” He warned that it already takes 10 years just to connect a new packinghouse to the grid.
Bird flu patient dies in Louisiana
A person in Louisiana who contracted a severe case of avian influenza last month died Monday, marking the first case of a death in the U.S. following contraction of the virus.
The patient, who was hospitalized with a severe case of H5N1 on Dec. 18, was over 65 years old and was reported to have underlying health conditions, according to a Louisiana Department of Health release. The person contracted the virus after being exposed to both a non-commercial poultry flock and wild birds, the release said.
Read our full report at Agri-Pulse.com.
Trump says he’s not scaling back universal tariff plans
President-elect Donald Trump insists he is not scaling back plans for an across-the-board tariff on U.S. imports, rejecting a Washington Post report suggesting aides are crafting a pared-down proposal.
Trump repeatedly floated a universal tariff of up to 20% during the campaign. On Truth Social on Monday, Trump said the Post report “incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be pared back.”
The Trump transition team did not respond to Agri-Pulse’s request for clarification.
Some Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R- N.Y., told Agri-Pulse in November that they favored a more targeted approach to tariffs. “We'll see what they propose. I haven't seen any specifics,” Malliotakis said Monday.
Plant-based foods group says new labeling recommendations from FDA will hurt market
On Monday FDA also proposed nonbinding guidance urging more specific labeling for plant-food alternatives to animal products.
The recommendations suggest manufacturers prominently display more details about the ingredients used in a product rather than just saying they are “plant-based.” The guidance covers items like alternatives to eggs, poultry, meat, cheese and more, but doesn’t include plant-based alternatives to milk.
The recommendations create “unnecessary burdens for plant-based producers that may make it more difficult to keep their products on grocery store shelves,” says Madeline Cohen, associate director of regulatory affairs at the Good Food Institute, which promotes non-meat-based protein.
She says the guidance doesn’t identify any existing consumer confusion with the ingredients used in plant-based alternatives.
Keep in mind: The proposed guidance doesn’t set legally enforceable rules. Given the timing, it leaves the final decision on the issue to the incoming Trump administration.
Johnson lays out strategy for passing reconciliation bill
House Republicans appear to be leaning into the idea of a one-bill budget reconciliation process, which Trump backs. The idea is to wrap a range of Trump’s policy priorities into one giant bill, including tax and spending cuts, border security funding and energy development.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., noted Monday that in Trump’s first term in 2017 the first reconciliation bill failed. Twenty Republicans later voted “no” on the following budget resolution. And at the time, Republicans had a much larger margin in the House than they do now.
“Guess what: We can’t lose two [members],” Scalise said. “When I shared that with the president, you could tell they understood. I mean there’s serious risk in having multiple bills that have to pass to get your agenda through.”
Scalise said there’s a risk of losing Republicans on the second package. Using a one-bill approach, he said they can get the process started in the next few weeks.
Keep in mind: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., prefers a two-step process that would leave tax issues to a second reconciliation bill.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called it a “national security imperative” to address issues like the border as quickly as possible. “But Speaker [Mike] Johnson feels like he can’t do two bills. The Democrats did,” Graham said, referring to what Democrats accomplished in President Biden’s first two years. “So, we’ll see how this plays out, but there are so many threats out there, I think this delay equals danger.”
Final word:
“California’s water management is a savage ballet of chaos, greed and half-baked dreams.” — ChatGPT. Jay Lund, a UC Davis engineering professor, asked the AI software to write a short essay on water in the style of “gonzo” journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
