Growers Spend Millions to Oppose UFW - Unions

 Ag groups spend millions on ads to discourage California farmworker unionizing. Supporters and members of the United Farm Workers union march in Galt on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022 on their way to Sacramento to ask for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature on AB 2183. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com 

What to know BY MATHEW MIRANDA AND MELISSA MONTALVO UPDATED APRIL 15, 2024 10:38 AM

Major agriculture organizations have combined forces to spend millions on Spanish-language radio advertisements discouraging farmworkers from voting in union elections. Radio ads promoting anti-union rhetoric on multiple popular radio stations across the state and Spanish-language digital media over the past nine months have attacked a 2023 California “card check law” aimed to make it easier for farmworkers to vote in union elections. In some cases, the ads platform misinformation, according to labor experts. Behind the majority of the radio ads is the California Farmworker Information Center, a registered nonprofit and charity founded in 2023 by executives from the Western Growers Association, California Fresh Fruit Association and California Citrus Mutual — all groups that opposed the “card check” law.

 The group has spent nearly $2 million on “public education/advertising” in 2023 and expects to spend another $1.8 million combined over the next two years, according to May 2023 filings with the California Attorney General’s Office. Other organizations, like the California Farm Bureau and Farm Employers Labor Services, have also bought radio ads. These anti-union ads are an attempt to combat the new legislation and blunt recent organizing wins. The California Agricultural Labor Relations Board has received four election petitions since the law’s passing, which is far more than in recent years. The flagship United Farm Workers labor union is leading the way in organizing wins and recently won a historic certification vote at a multi-billion dollar agribusiness. LA ABEJA, A NEWSLETTER WRITTEN FOR AND BY CALIFORNIA LATINOS Sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter centered around Latino issues in California. Anti-union pushes by employers are nothing new. But what labor and law experts say is unique about these radio advertisements is the industry-wide effort to discourage unionizing. TOP VIDEOS “It’s very unusual in terms of its scope and reach,” said William B. Gould, a law professor at Stanford University and former chairman of the ALRB. “I would suppose that they’re concerned that some of the farmworkers might organize.” UFW says its staff, members and non-union workers have identified ads on streaming services and 14 different Spanish-language radio stations across Bakersfield, Fresno, Monterey and Salinas. The center reported using its funding for radio, digital media and print media advertisements but declined to confirm “strategic information” about its ad purchases. iHeartMedia Fresno/Modesto, which owns a number of Spanish-language radio stations, confirmed the center has purchased ad space over the past year. “Growers pretending to speak for farmworkers is nothing new,” said Elizabeth Strater, UFW’s director of strategic campaigns. In August 2023, UFW filed an unfair labor practice charge against the California Farmworker Information Center with the ALRB that is still pending. The charge alleges the radio ads “misrepresent union dues process,” constitute “voter suppression” and have a “chilling effect” on farmworker rights. Powered by Taboola RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

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