The huge wage and hour lawsuit threatened by an axis of worker representatives against several major table grape producers was splintered last week by a Fresno judge's decision. Federal District Court Judge A. W. Ishii told the plaintiffs they must break the suit down and redraft individual complaints against the targeted growers. He said he saw no joint responsibility by the defendants.

The action is an outgrowth and expansion of action against one grower charged with authorizing "off-the-clock" duties by harvest crews, which resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement two years ago. As the complaints are redrafted each must make a showing of good cause before using John or Jane Doe generalities. Attorneys for the growers hailed the decision as a huge win.

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UFW DECERTIFIED AT VISALIA NURSERY

Employees at the L. E. Cooke Nursery in Visalia voted last week to decertify the United Farmworkers union as their collective bargaining agent in a secret ballot election that was overseen by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board.

The 57-53 vote provided a narrow, but decisive margin. Spokesmen for the employer say that a dozen challenged ballots are not expected to alter the outcome because the credentials of those challenged are known to be valid.

While the outcome was clear cut the atmosphere during and after the balloting was volatile. One employer representative was struck by a car driven by a union organizer as election participants gathered for an announcement of the outcome of the voting.

Legal action might result against the driver, who was being directed to park his car outside a zone that had been designated for foot traffic. His car was moving at a relatively slow speed, but was being driven erratically and perhaps threateningly.

The election victory for the employees who were determined to throw off the burden of an oppressive and largely unresponsive union was intensified because they had petitioned for decertification on two previous occasions, losing on close votes both times.

Relations between the union and Cooke management have been tense long before a vote established the union as the workers' agent 15 years ago or more. Efforts by the employer to resist union intimidation have been firm and consistent from the beginning. Bitterness has characterized the activities and expressions of representatives of the union and employees who have favored it.

Consequently, an assortment of unfair labor practice charges can be expected from union sources, and time lapses can be anticipated before the ALRB certifies the election outcome.

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VISALIA DAIRY LOSES ELECTION TO UFCW

In another representation election in the Visalia area April 4 the workers at Vander Kooi dairy granted the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 the right to represent them in collective bargaining with their employer. The vote was 9-0, with one challenged ballot. Swift certification of that vote by the ALRB is expected.

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UFW FOUNDER'S DAY RE-WRITES HISTORY

Rallies, a few parades, an occasional speech and obligatory feature stories in the media were expected and accepted as a sort of holiday was observed mostly in California late last month to recognize the now deceased founder of the United Farmworkers union.

A noticeable change of emphasis was observed as attention was called repeatedly to the union's latter day slogan of si se puede(yes, we can or yes, it can happen). Huelga(strike) was the combative slogan of hate and disruption that actually drove the union's activities in its early days, when the founder and a few mafioso companions were at the helm.

This year's celebration made it clear that union supporters are ready to declare the "struggle" a kinder, gentler exercise than it actually was. They choose to ignore the arson, the shootings, the vulgar epithets directed at workers by union lackies at fieldside, the threats and the assault on grower equipment that characterized union activity for years.

Little in the recent observance mentioned the economic disruption caused by the illegal secondary boycott of grapes, lettuce, wine and a whole catalogue of California food products under the direction of the founder and his staff of negative thinkers and planners, nor his intensive training at the feet of Communist-inspired rabble rouser Saul Allinsky.

While union adherents two or three generations removed from the union's ugly hey days try to soften its image and gloss over its utter violence, second and third generation heirs of growers who were savaged by union events can still remember that nothing about them was kind or gentle.

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GUATEMALAN, HONDURAN IMPORTS MIRED IN RED TAPE

The Nisei Farmers League in Fresno and President Manuel Cunha are spearheading efforts to import guest workers legally from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Cooperation is infinitely greater by all three Central American countries than by politicians and bureaucrats at several levels in the US.

Cunha visited Guatemala recently and found supporters there ready to embark on worker training programs, and new interest by Salvadoran representatives. However, the door to worker importation is being blocked by a cap on H-2A numbers and a reluctance by politicians to discuss activities that might be interpreted by their constituents(or their opponents)as amnesty.

To avoid the "amnesty" stigma and to facilitate the importation, student visas are being explored as well. Availability of housing for imported workers is a major consideration, one that is not easily resolved.

Cunha is scheduled to visit officials in Guatemala again in May, and representatives from Guatemala and Honduras are scheduled to visit Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley in June.

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UNION'S ANNUAL REPORT REVEALS LITTLE PROGRESS

The LM-2 report, which the Labor Department requires of every labor organization annually, has just been posted for the United Farmworkers union. The current report for 2007 varies little from the report the union filed the previous year.

In general it shows that the union's 4,600 members contributed less than its friends, perennial supporters and the sale of union memorabilia and trinkets. It reported total income of $6.1 million, with $2.3 million coming from dues, and $3.6 million listed as "other receipts."

Salaries of all employees are reported. The president's compensation is in the $90,000 range, with a couple of top executives in the $70-80,000 range. The presence of more than 30 other staff members, specialists and clerical workers make a convincing case that the organization is top heavy and administratively obese.

A report last week on a Bakersfield television station indicates that the UFW and other residents of the Keene community in the Tehachapi Mountains are beset by a water shortage. Existing on bottled water might have something to do with the landscaping shortcomings reported to AG ACCENT last month by a recent visitor to union headquarters.

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UNION LAUNCHES ITS OWN WINE LABEL

With gusto and apparent pride the United Farmworkers union announced last month that it is promoting its own "Black Eagle" wine label, featuring the stark "dead chicken" emblem that has been the focal point of the union's flag for 40 years. Apparently the announcement coincided with the festivities in connection with the founder's holiday.

The announcement indicated the grapes for the three varieties of wine are being purchased from St. Supery Vineyards in the Napa Valley, where a contract exists between workers and the vineyard owner. It included the news that the wine will be served at the Democratic National Convention later this year.

While the arrangement involves little more than the purchase of the wine and the packaging from an established winery it skirts a long established NLRB rule prohibiting a union from owning any business in which its represented workers are employed. That issue might be tested later.

A more pertinent matter is the status of relationships with other wine producers by a union that establishes a wine label that competes in the marketplace with their production. It's hard to imagine a winery accepting overtures from organizers who represent a brand that competes with them for sales.

And, of course, the union runs the risk of some well-respected wine taster or judge at a wine competition naming the union vintage as inferior. And in the sophisticated world of wine some imaginative wordsmith will need to describe the new arrivals. Perhaps it will be something like "a hearty bouquet of chicken feathers enhanced by the essence of roasted talons."

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CHARLES KRUG-MONDAVI SIGNS UNION CONTRACT, RE-HIRES WORKERS

The Charles Krug-Mondavi winery in St. Helena has signed a four-year contract with the United Farmworkers union, and has rehired 24 workers it fired in 2005. At that time the winery retained a vineyard management company to perform field chores after expiration of its renewable contract of 20 years with the union.

Several unfair labor practice charges were filed by the union with the ALRB, which aided negotiations between the winery and the union through the office of its general counsel. One provision of the new agreement requires that workers hired through labor contractors will pay dues to the union if they work more than seven days.

Krug retains the right to demand physical examinations for new employees, but not for those already employed. A Krug spokesman called the contract "consistent with the one we were trying to get two years ago."

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