The State : Wine Strikers Spurn Offer

Striking workers represented by Local 45 of the Winery Workers Union have rejected the latest contract offer by the Winery Employers Assn. About 290 of 350 workers at wineries operated by six of the 11 struck wine producers voted down the contract offer, according to a spokeswoman for the Fresno-based local. Results from the vote among workers represented by Modesto-based Local 186 of the Winery, Distillery and Allied Workers Union were not available. About 2,200 wine industry employees from Bakersfield to the Napa Valley have walked off their jobs since Aug. 18 to protest proposed pay and benefit cuts and other contract concessions demanded by the 12-member association, whose members produce more than half of California’s wine.