UFW Succeeds in Passing a Bill to Protect Farmworker Union Members in California

 

    At the end of September, and a long brave fight by United Farm Workers (UFW), a bill was signed in California that would protect farmworker’ rights to unionize by allowing their votes to remain anonymous and allow them to sign pledge cards off-site to further avoid intimidation from farm owners. This is a huge win, and a great step forward for improving workplace conditions for farmworkers in California!  

So- why is this so important? Unfortunately, decent working conditions are not always guaranteed, particularly in farm work. In fact, farmworkers are deliberately left out of most workplace protection legislation. This is done purposefully- to trap people into a physically, mentally demanding job with long hours, little pay, and few breaks in the name of cheap produce. I, for one, would much rather pay an extra two dollars for grapes if it meant that workers were given fair pay, plenty of breaks in the shade, access to bathrooms, and decent living conditions (as many farmworkers live on the farms they work at).  

These issues are intentionally kept away from the public eye. Workplace abuse is not good for business. Often, farm owners can get away with imposing such deplorable conditions on their laborers if they are undocumented. When there is less of a paper trail, it's just easier to violate human rights. This is certainly far from ethical and is deeply unbecoming of this country and what we call “the American dream.” That's why this bill, and it being signed into law, is so important! In California, farmworkers will now be able to vote to unionize without fear; these unions will be able to negotiate for better pay and workplace conditions and overall safety. The workers will finally get a voice and more control over their important job that society depends on.  

It's not that farmworkers in California couldn't unionize before; it's been legal to organize in California since the 70’s. However, this legality came with strings attached for farmworkers. Since voting for said unions wouldn't be anonymous votes and since workers must sign their pledge cards on site, workers would be at risk of being targeted by farm owners. Farmworkers can't be fired for organizing, but if farm owners know who the organizers are, they can target and fire the workers for something else. Whether or not the workers are sufficient at their jobs, human error is a fire-able offence for those already on thin ice. Farmworkers would feel threatened by a worker uprising and act to shut it down by firing people. This union-busting tactic happens all over the country. However, these threats to job security often affect farmworkers differently. Losing your job would mean being unable to pay off any debt- immigration is expensive whether it's “legal” or not, and people coming to the U.S. without papers often pay someone to help get them over the border. In situations like these, it's quite common for immigrants to use their homes as collateral and losing their jobs can mean losing their family home. So, it's certainly not outlandish to assume that farmworkers don't unionize out of fear and desperation. How shameful that fear and desperation such as this has any place in the land of the free. 

Since they can now vote anonymously, farmworkers will finally be able to begin to negotiate fair workplace standards. The UFW (United Farm Workers) were the main spear-headers of this movement- congratulations on such a monumental win! While this is happening in California, this sends the message that it can be done to the rest of the country. This embodies what it means to be “grassroots”: a community, such as UFW, of everyday workers get together to make something happen. What an excellent example of real people making real change. Thank you, UFW, for fighting the good fight!  

by Finn Spencer