Farmworkers win right to organize after 5-year struggle
Precedent-setting agreement
reached; Mt. Olive Pickle boycott over
Press release from National Farm Worker Ministry,
September 16, 2004 [Posted here 9-17-04]
For background go to an Associated Press
report on 9-17-04:
Pickle Boycott Ends as Farmworkers Join Union
The
National Council of Churches provides more background from its
November 2003 General Assembly, in which it dealt with proposals that the
NCC endorse consumer boycotts of Taco Bell and Mt. Olive Pickle companies
to put pressure for improvement of wages and living conditions of their
suppliers'' farm workers.
After five years of a public action boycott
by the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO (FLOC), it has reached a
precedent setting agreement with the North Carolina Grower's Association (NCGA)
and the Mount Olive Pickle Company.
This Thursday, September 16, 2004, over
8,000 "guest" farm workers in North Carolina will become the first such
workers in the history of the United States to win union representation and
a contract. It will be the largest union contract in North Carolina's
history.
A press conference and ceremonial signing
will be held at 10:00am at the Community United Church of Christ, 814 Dixie
Trail, Raleigh, North Carolina.
The international component of the contract
to be signed on Thursday will allow the union to oversee the employment of
over 8,000 workers from most Mexican States who will come to work in North
Carolina with H2A visas through the U.S. Department of Labor. The standards
set by this agreement are significant because of the agricultural industry's
almost exclusive use of undocumented workers. The agreement will cover over
1000 North Carolina farms.
A side-bar agreement will extend the
influence of this agreement as far as Ohio as a pact with the Mount Olive
Pickle Company increases wages to workers and prices to growers by over 10%
over the next three years in settling the more than five year old boycott.
Most growers who contract with Mount Olive are also members of the NCGA.
The NCGA has been accused of blacklisting
workers for supporting the union and for complaining about workers' rights
and protections. The agreement between NCGA and FLOC will make the blacklist
debate a moot issue through the development of a system of seniority based
on number of years worked, growers' requests, and union membership. The
contract's non-discrimination clause, a three-step grievance procedure, and
camp representatives in labor camps will oversee implementation and
protection of workers' rights. FLOC will have union organizers present in
Mexico to enforce this agreement and assure the elimination of the
blacklist.
The agreement is a new initiative to bring
the entire agricultural industry of North Carolina together to work on
different issues that require investigation and long-term development.
Standing committees with the NCGA and other public entities will improve
housing, health care, and examine issues of fair trade in regards to
competitive growers and industries that compete with workers and growers
under this agreement. The Union and the NCGA will approach the Mexican
government together concerning graft, bribery, and blackmail committed by
recruiters and Mexican police.
The agreement covers a broad range of crops
throughout the entire state from the late days of February to the harvest of
the last Christmas trees in November.
FLOC President, Baldemar Velasquez stated,
"This agreement will set an important standard to the rest of the
agricultural industry. Everyone else almost exclusively utilizes
undocumented workers and the conditions of those workers are tragic and
shameful."
H-2A worker Jose Hernandez-Coronado said,
"We will continue struggling and give it all we got, because there is still
work to do. We will never forget those that started this, those that made it
possible, those workers and leaders who were in the front lines of the
campaign and the union. Right now we do it for ourselves and for our
families in Mexico, but we also sign this contract for the future
generations who will come in the coming years. Hasta la Victoria, somos
hermanos en la lucha."
Benefits of the FLOC Contract with NCGA:
1. The Union will be the tool for
negotiating wags, working and living conditions for the members.
2. There will be a seniority system in
which workers will be eligible to come based on growers' request, number of
years worked, and union membership. No worker will be unfairly denied the
opportunity to come as an H2A worker or be blacklisted.
3. No worker will be discriminated against
based on gender, religion, age, national origin, color, race, or union
participation.
4. If a worker is transferred, he has the
right to file a grievance if he believes the transfer to be unjust or
unacceptable.
5. Under the contract, workers can file
complaints about any abuse or injustice through a Grievance Procedure. This
process consists of 3 steps and should resolve the problem in less than 21
days. No worker will fear losing her/his job for filing a complaint.
6. There will be a camp representative for
every 20 workers who will be trained by the union to be able to resolve
grievances immediately in the camps. The representative will also:
a. Be in charge of informing the workers
when pesticides are being applied
b. Help resolve problems with other
workers
c. Communicate with the Union about
meetings, services, and problems
7. The Dunlop Commission will be used as a
neutral party to resolve problems that cannot be resolved between the Union
and the Association.
8. The Union must be informed 24 hours in
advance of firing any worker so that the union will have time to defend the
worker.
9. The Union can request reports of the
chemicals and pesticides used in the fields. When applying pesticides, the
farmers must inform the workers in advance of which pesticides are used and
how much time the workers should wait before entering the fields.
10. If a worker is injured at work and
requests medical attention, the grower will pay him for a full day's work,
even if he is not able to work the rest of the day.
11. If a close family member dies, the
worker will have the opportunity to return home on his own cost and will
receive three days paid leave if he returns with proof of the funeral.
12. Committees will be developed to look at
issues of improving housing, health care, approaching industries about price
increases and other issues that emerge. The Union and the Association will
seek funds to make this possible.
13. The cucumber pickers whose farms sell
to Mt. Olive Pickle Company will receive a wage increase of 10% over the
next 3 years, and the Union is committed to approaching additional
industries.
14. There will be a new process for
returning home so that all those who complete their contract can receive
their reimbursements once the sweet potato harvest needs are filled.
15. The recruiters in Mexico will provide a
detailed receipt of all fees paid to all the contracted workers.
16. After working seven consecutive days,
all workers will be given at least one half day of rest in a "Freedom to
Worship" clause.
17. The Union and the Association have
committed to talking with the government of Mexico about bus robberies
during the trip here and bribery by recruiters and police, and talking with
the US government about farmworker and guestworker legislation.
*************
Lori Fernald Khamala \ National Farm Worker
Ministry (NC)
4907 Garrett Rd., Durham, NC 27707
(919) 489-4485
fax (919) 489-9149
lori@nfwm.org
