UFW Rival Wins Election at Coastal Berry

A rival to the United Farm Workers union was declared the winner in an election to represent workers at the nation’s largest strawberry grower. Final election results at Watsonville-based Coastal Berry Co. showed 725 workers had voted for the Coastal Berry of California Farm Workers Committee, compared with 616 for the United Farm Workers. The Coastal Berry committee already led the UFW by 90 votes in the June 4 balloting, but 92 disputed ballots remained uncounted, until this week. But the issue isn’t settled yet. The UFW has filed more than 200 objections to the state-supervised election, alleging a variety of election day violations, including voter intimidation. The state Agricultural Labor Relations Board is reviewing those allegations, a process that will delay certification of the election for weeks or even months.