Over 3000 UFW farm workers and their supporters marched on the
California Capitol in Sacramento on Sept. 4 insisting on Fair Treatment for
Farm workers Now. The march
began August 23 in Madera. The march was organized by the United Farm Workers
to reach Sacramento on Labor Day weekend.
Marchers are pushing for
the enactment of the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act and the right to be
paid overtime after eight hours.
As the farm workers reached
the capitol an apparent agreement was reached among legislators to pass improvements of the existing
Agricultural Labor Relations Act. Gov. Jerry Brown and pro farm worker
legislators have struck a deal to
give state regulators new powers that could help agriculture workers unionize.
The new measures,
introduced in the Legislature on Friday, would allow the state's Agriculture
Labor Relations Board to certify a union if it finds that a grower has acted
illegally to affect the outcome of a labor election. Currently the ALRB makes
5-10 decisions per year and few of the decisions result in elections. The legislation would also accelerate
the mediation process for workers in disputes with their employers.
The Governor would
not agree to the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers legislation already passed by the
legislature which would have
permitted card check verification to hold a union election. Governor Brown and Republicans argue that the ALRB, passed in 1976, needs
more time to be developed before changing a fundamental issue such as
elections.
