Judge Sets Aside Election on UFW

An election aimed at ousting the United Farm Workers of America from Gallo of Sonoma’s grape fields should be thrown out because the vintner illegally encouraged the vote, an administrative law judge ruled Friday.

In March, Gallo farmhands cast ballots on whether to decertify the union nearly 10 years after the UFW won a campaign to represent more than 300 workers there. The ballots have never been tallied.

Union officials contended that Gallo had instigated the election to eliminate the union, which fought hard for a labor contract signed three years ago. Company officials say they had nothing to do with a movement to dismantle the union and accused UFW members of slashing tires and threatening workers around the time of the election.

As a result of those complaints, a director at the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board ordered the ballots impounded and said they should not be tallied until the dispute was resolved. Administrative Law Judge Nancy C. Smith, however, ruled Friday that the election should be set aside.

“We’ve said all along that the decertification effort was a company effort to get rid of the union,” UFW spokesman Marc Grossman said. “The judge has come down squarely on our side.”

Gallo officials said they planned to appeal the ruling to the labor relations board.

They have denied claims that field managers were gathering signatures for the decertification campaign. They also said that workers accused of gathering those signatures were not Gallo employees, but worked for a farm labor contractor.

Company spokesman John Segale said he was confident the company would win on appeal, and noted that prior complaints by the union had been dismissed by state labor officials.

“It’s important to remember that three charges were filed by the UFW,” Segale said. “Two allegations of misconduct by management were both dismissed, which clearly vindicates our company. This third charge does not involve an employee, but a farm labor contractor. We feel we are clearly vindicated.”

The decision is the latest development in a series of disputes between the union and Gallo of Sonoma, a division of E.J. Gallo Winery.

Field workers at Gallo of Sonoma have been working without a contract since Nov. 1. The last contract was signed in September 2000, after nearly six years of talks.