UFW, Labor Leaders Picket Western Growers
Orange County labor leaders and activists joined a United Farm Workers Union picket line Thursday, accusing the Western Growers Assn. of “frivolous” attempts to block California’s 20,000 strawberry workers from unionizing.
“Hi ho, hi ho, Western Growers got to go,” shouted retired lawyer Roy Giordano of Corona del Mar outside the growers’ Irvine headquarters. He was flanked by UFW pickets with cowboy hats and signs reading, “Viva Chavez.”
Western Growers’ members ship most of the fresh fruit and vegetables in Arizona and California. The trade association has asked the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board to void what the growers call an illegal “back room deal” between the UFW and Watsonville’s Coastal Berry Co. Western Growers contends UFW officials and Coastal, formerly the Gargiulo Inc. unit of Monsanto Inc., violated the workers’ rights to determine their own fate by setting up what would be a pro-union election.
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