Olive Harvest Labor Shortages Reported

Northern California olive producers are reporting shortages of workers that are hampering their harvest.

Thursday's edition of the Capitol Press carried the story. "Guys are jumping from one crew to the next crew thinking they're getting a better deal, then you lose a crew for a while and then they come back because they realize it's just as good as where they were," said Scott Patton, a Corning area olive producer. "People are walking off saying they won't pick unless they get so much. Farmers are paying a lot more per ton for picking."

You can read more here.

Update on UFW Failure at Corralitos Farms

Bitterness Continues After UFW's 

Loss at Corralitos Farms

By Donna Jones

Santa Cruz Sentinel 

WATSONVILLE -- Workers at Corralitos Farms are denying union charges of unfair labor practices by management during a recent election.

More than 200 workers signed a statement sent to the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board saying they were neither bribed nor coerced into voting against representation by the United Farm Workers.

The statement was in response to a UFW challenge to a Sept. 19 election, in which the union lost its bid to represent workers in a 187-154 vote.

Click here to read the rest of the story. 

 


















http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/watsonville/ci_21702083/bitterness-continues-after-ufws-loss-at-corralitos-farms

Commentary: Obama Hits a Foul by

Honoring Cesar Chavez 

Ruben Navarrette, CNN 

"...Chavez has significance as a historical figure. It is because of the UFW that farmworkers now have clean water and toilets in the fields, collective bargaining, lunch breaks and other legal protections. But Chavez was never a leader for all Latinos....Last, most Latinos disapprove of the president's heavy-handed immigration policies and record number of deportations....Chavez earned many titles in his life, but "champion of immigrants" was not one of them. He was primarily a labor leader who was concerned about illegal immigrants undercutting union members, either by accepting lower wages or crossing picket lines....According to many historical accounts, Chavez ordered union members to call the Immigration and Naturalization Service and report illegal immigrants who were working in the fields so that they could be deported."

More....

UFW Reaps a Bitter Harvest in Watsonville 

Two hundred employees of Corralitos Farms in Watsonville recently did something extraordinary -- they filed a statement with the Agricultural Labor Relations Board denying United Farm Workers' c

harges that many workers were bribed and coerced in the campaign leading up to an election which UFW lost, 187-154, on September 19.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel interviewed 11 Corralitos Farms workers who said they voted no because they did not believe the union's claims it could improve their wages and working conditions, and because they were weary of the union's heavy-handed organizing tactics.

You can read the Sentinel's article at this link:

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/watsonville/ci_21702083/bitterness-continues-after-ufws-loss-at-corralitos-farms

FELS Can Help:

FELS offers products and services that can help you deal with the UFW and help you:

Train your supervisors and crew leaders in labor law compliance and good management techniques so your workers don't call on the union; and,

Help you comply with the Agricultural Labor Relations Act if a union targets you and your workers.
Y
ou can learn more about FELS' Labor Management Consultation program at this link:

http://www.fels.net/1/fels-services/labor-management-consultant-service.html

And you can learn more about FELS' Group Legal Services program at this link:

http://www.fels.net/1/fels-services/group-legal-services.html

If you have questions, please contact us at 800-753-9073 or info@fels.net

Heat Illness News

Governor Vetoes Heat Illness Bills:  Late on Sunday evening Governor Brown's office announced his vetoes of two heat illness passed by the California Legislature (see a press release from FELS parent organization California Farm Bureau Federation.)

Hot Weather Continues into Early Fall: Despite the early October date, hot weather persists in much of California.  According to a California Emergency Management Agency statement issued this morning:

Much warmer than normal temperatures are expected to persist throughout California into this week; for some areas this will be the hottest weather of the entire year. Daytime highs in the 90s to low 100s are possible across the interior areas.  The hot will be accompanied by single digit humidity, very dry fuels, and 20 to 30 mph offshore wind gusts through and below passes and canyons. Poor overnight humidity recoveries are also expected during the period. A cooling trend is forecast to begin by Wednesday.

Take a few moments today to double-check your compliance with key heat illness prevention requirements:

• Provide shade at all time when temperatures exceed 85 degrees, and be sure there is enough shade for at least 25% of the workers working in the field;
• Provide enough water for each worker to drink one quart per hour throughout the work shift, or a replenishment plan if that water is not available at the beginning of the shift;
• Pay special attention to workers who may not be acclimated to high temperatures by checking them frequently;
• Have a written plan for compliance with heat illness prevention requirements and have a copy available at each worksite;
• Double check to be sure all your supervisors are trained in your compliance plan and emergency response procedures and all your workers are trained in basic knowledge about heat illness and prevention.

You can find compliance information on the Heat Illness Prevention Standard at FELS website.  If you have questions or comments, please contact us at FELS: 1-800-753-9073 or info@fels.net

Lock-Out/Tag-Out Tools Available

 

The Phylmar Regulatory Roundtable (PRR) is a group of companies committed to improving workplace safety and health. The PRR Good Practices Task Force compiled information from members companies' existing safety and health programs and created materials that provide the public with a set of "successful" or "good" practices for confined space and lockout/tagout procedures. Failure to perform these procedures properly can lead to potentially life-threatening injuries to employees. The Task Force's tools provide a means for the employer to evaluate program effectiveness.

Materials available include:  

• Lock-Out/Tag-Out overview
• Sample Written Program
• Sample Checklist for Annual Verification
• Sample Checklist for Compliance Review
• Sample Checklist for Program Review Checklist
• Skills Survey

All are available at this link:

http://www.fels.net/1/fels-subscriber-resources/safety-resources-index.html#LockoutTagout

If you have questions or comments, please contact us at FELS: 1-800-753-9073 or info@fels.net

USDOL Using Hot Goods for Child Labor Enforcement

U.S. Department of Labor has been using the Fair Labor Standards Act's "hot goods" provision for enforcement purposes. "Hot goods" allows the Department to confiscate anything produced in violation of the requirements of the FLSA. In particular, DOL has been using "hot goods" for enforcement against alleged child labor violations.  While "hot goods" might make sense to use as leverage with manufacturers of inanimate objects, use against farmers and their perishable commodities can threaten the economic viability of a farming operation. Here's a report on DOL's use of "hot goods" in Oregon and other places.