SB 180: the "Fair Treatment of Farm Workers Act."
UFW Founder Cesar Chavez recognized that justice for farm workers could only happen under two conditions. First, there had to be fair laws and second, those laws had to be enforced.
California’s Legislature has passed many fair laws. Yet, with 400,000 farm workers working on more than 80,000 farms (often temporarily), timely enforcement of these laws is impossible to achieve and too expensive to afford. On top of this, most workers are employed by a corrupt farm labor contractor system.
It would take tens of millions of dollars to provide anywhere near acceptable levels of enforcement. Wage and hour violations are common, dangerous over-exposure to pesticides is a health crisis, sanitation standards are dismal and sexual harassment remains widespread. As a result, farm workers are forced to endure a life of suffering.
The UFW-backed SB180, the "Fair Treatment of Farm Workers Act." (D: Migden) will allow farm workers to choose a union by either a secret ballot election or a "majority sign-up" process. Both processes will be administered by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB), appointed by the Governor.
This bill is crucial for farm workers who face tremendous pressure during a union election campaign. Companies threaten to close down if the union wins; threaten to fire or blacklist pro-union workers; threaten to close down company housing. These threats have a tremendous impact on these workers. Workers deserve a system which will allow them to vote without grower intimidation and coercion.