Farm Labor Bill Gets Legislature’s OK

A day after California’s agricultural industry saluted Gov. Gray Davis at a fund-raiser, the Legislature gave final approval Thursday to a bill that, over the bitter objections of farmers, would impose binding arbitration when unions and growers hit impasses in contract negotiations.

Without debate, the Senate sent the labor-sponsored bill by Senate leader John Burton (D-San Francisco) to the desk of Davis, whose spokesman warned this week of the governor’s “concerns” about how it might hurt the California economy.

The term “concerns” often is used as Capitol code to signal that the governor does not like a bill or may veto it.

Davis attended the fund-raiser Wednesday night at the private Sutter Club, a block from the Capitol. While there was no immediate report of the evening’s receipts, Davis routinely raises more than $100,000 at such events. About 40 people attended, including lobbyist George Soares, who represents an array of farm and dairy interests opposed to the binding-arbitration legislation.

The bill (SB 1736), sponsored by the United Farm Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, would grant agricultural employees binding arbitration, something that the union founded by the late Cesar Chavez has long sought.

“The timing is kind of unseemly,” fellow Democrat Burton said of Davis’ decision to attend the fund-raiser the night before the Senate approved the bill.

Manuel Cunha Jr., president of the Nisei Farmers League, called the plan “a horrible bill, a terrible bill,” and said it would cause “economic disaster” among California farmers. Other grower representatives have denounced the bill in similar terms.

Cunha attended the fund-raiser but said he had not broached the topic of the bill with Davis, although he had written a letter to the governor and spoken to administration aides about it.

“If everyone brought up all their issues, the governor would still be there,” Cunha said.

The fund-raiser was scheduled more than a month ago, before the timing of the bill’s passage could be known, Davis’ aides said.

Davis Press Secretary Steven Maviglio said that the governor’s biggest backers are labor unions and that the legislation is labor’s “top priority.” Davis has received calls from top labor leaders, including John Sweeney, head of the AFL-CIO, urging that he sign the bill.

“All the governor’s supporters know he signs based on their merit, not based on who is supporting them,” Maviglio said, adding that “virtually all the governor’s supporters” have had measures vetoed that they hoped would be signed.

As Davis was attending the fund-raiser, the UFW was organizing a vigil outside the Capitol to underscore the importance it puts on the bill. Mark Grossman, spokesman for the UFW, noted that Davis was chief of staff to Gov. Jerry Brown when Brown championed passage of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975.

“We hope and pray he is going to sign the bill,” Grossman said.

He declined to comment on Davis’ decision to attend the farm industry fund-raiser, saying: “All we care about is his signature on the bill.”

Davis continued to insist Thursday that he had taken no position on the bill. When pressed further by reporters on whether he intended to sign or veto it, the governor cut off questions. “I don’t think it’s worth going down this road,” he said.

But Burton warned that it would be a “mistake” for Davis to veto the bill. He said Davis and his aides “never once expressed any opposition to the bill” as it wound through the Legislature. “They never talked to me at all,” he said.

During a campaign stop in Ventura, the Republican nominee for governor, Bill Simon Jr., called on Davis to veto the legislation.

“It’s not right for the government to dictate when and how private parties resolve their disputes,” he said.

But he said Davis probably wouldn’t take his advice. “We all know that Davis is predisposed to pay back his big labor contributors and sign this bill.”

The measure would be the first change in the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act since it became law and brought an end to strikes and labor violence in the fields. It is the UFW’s biggest legislative initiative in years.

Sponsors said binding arbitration is necessary because growers have stonewalled and routinely refused to sign contracts and bargain in good faith for years.

The UFW asserted that for more than 25 years, farm workers voted in secret ballot elections for the UFW to represent them at 428 ranches.

But during the same period, the union said, only 185 growers signed contracts. Currently, the UFW has 50 contracts, representatives said.

Growers fiercely fought the bill. Among other things, they charged that a third-party arbitrator effectively would remove their ability to bargain collectively.

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Times staff writer Matea Gold contributed to this report.